Rockit™ and KORU® – The Perfect Addition to Your Bottom Line
The warm days of spring are just around the corner and if you noticed that it is time to start adding some dollars to your bottom line in the Produce department, think Rockit™ and KORU®. These NEW varieties will have steady supply through the spring and summer allowing for a constant product offering at store level.
Tim Evans, Chelan Fresh Sales Director reports “Both the Rockit™ and the KORU® are proving to be on the higher end of retailer price points with high velocity sell through. The Rockit™ 3lb tub has especially taken top line sales to the next level. Retailers who once were skeptical about the Rockit™ are finding that its capacity to generate repeat sales is phenomenal.” “We are also ramping up our consumer engagement with the Rockit™ and our presence at SXSW in Austin, TX in March. The SXSW show will give us additional opportunities to engage with consumers as they discover that Eating well doesn’t have to be a Big Deal.”
For more information on Rockit™ apple’s debut at South by Southest, visit our press release.
KORU® apples are developing their own fan base and are available in stores now. “We are noticing that consumers reach out to us once they have tasted KORU® and are eager to purchase these apples again” states Evans.
Contact your Chelan Fresh sales team member to find out more on how to feature KORU® and Rockit™ in your store. 509-682-4252.
Savor The Flavor
The dish on Chelan Fresh employees and their favorite recipes
Pictured L to R- SugarBee®, Derin Benson, Jim Colbert
Each month we feature one of our Chelan Fresh employees and get the scoop on their favorite recipe from our Chelan Fresh website.
This month meet Derin Benson**, Domestic Sales for Chelan Fresh with a West Coast slant. Derin was born and raised in the orchards of North Central Washington so he knows the fruit business from the farm to the sales desk. He spent a little time in the mid-West attending college, playing baseball and then found his way back home to Washington. Derin loves spending time with his family- his wife, their twin boys and recently the sweetest baby sister. In addition to family time, he loves coaching and watching sports. He coaches football, baseball and manages to squeeze in some days hunting and horseback riding. His twin boys are currently trying to decide if they want to be cowboys or professional baseball players. And Derin also loves to cook. It has been rumored his BBQ skills are legendary. What we really love about Derin besides his good nature, his tenacity for sales and being an all-around fun guy is he is not afraid to try new recipes.
Recently, Slow-Cooker SugarBee® Apple Pork Roast on our Chelan Fresh website caught his eye and now it has become a competition on the Chelan Fresh sales floor as to who makes this recipe the best. Our Chef/Registered Dietitian, Annessa Chumbly, would be proud!
According to Derin, “This is a great recipe to put in your crock-pot first thing in the morning or if you get the chance to run home at lunch, you can whip it up and turn the crock-pot on high so it is finished by dinner.” You can also easily substitute Chicken Breasts in place of the pork.
Next time you talk to Derin, ask him what’s good in the kitchen?
**Note – Derin was recently promoted to Director of the Chelan Fresh Yakima office. He will continue to work with his West Coast accounts while directing the day to day operations of the Yakima office. Congratulations, Derin!
Tools For the Trade
SugarBee® Retail Toolkit
Chelan Fresh is rolling out the new SugarBee® Toolkit online to aid retail grocers in promoting the new SugarBee® apple. According to Marketing Coordinator Lorinda Oscarson, “We wanted to give retailers every possible advantage when they feature the SugarBee® in their stores so we developed this toolkit to include all the information about the variety and also aid them in creating their own marketing programs for this unique apple.” The Toolkit includes online access to POS cards, recipe cards, social media calendars, logos, and high graphic photography of the SugarBee® apple both in the orchard and beauty shots in the studio.
“Everything is there and easy to download so retail managers and marketing teams can use the assets to promote this new apple.”
Go to chelanfresh.com/toolkit/ to sign in and view the Toolkit.
Brighter Bites
In the fall of 2019, Chelan Fresh Marketing Director Mac Riggan got excited when he talked to the team at Brighter Bites about their platform. The dedicated team at Brighter Bites has proven over the last 7 years that when kids have the opportunity to bring home fresh fruits and vegetables, families jump on board and get excited about making healthy changes. And when you give those families usage tips for incorporating more fruits and vegetables at family meals and snack time, change is inevitable.
Riggan reports, “At Chelan Fresh we have observed an encouraging dynamic of kid’s naturally gravitating toward healthier snack options when they are made available. If they are only offered snacks like chips and candy bars – then obviously, that is what they are going to crave and ask for. But, good news, kids also love apples! The unique little Rockit™ apples are incredibly crisp, very sweet and ridiculously delicious. And, they are the perfect size for kids and the kid at heart – making them fun to eat! Rockit™ is everything everyone loves about apples – miniaturized into a perfect, snackable size.”
Chelan Fresh is proud to support Brighter Bites as they continue to improve health by changing the dietary behaviors of families who are part of their program.
For more information on Brighter Bites or Chelan Fresh participation visit our recent press release or www.brighterbites.org.
Consumers Asked, Now We Deliver
Every week Chelan Fresh answers emails from consumers who have fallen in love with our apples and want to know where they can find more SugarBee®, Rockit™, and KORU® apples. While we always direct them to the closest 
grocery stores that carry our products, sometimes they just want to be able to order products online that will be delivered to their doorstep.
Once we knew that we could provide a quality product and partner with the dedicated team at GoldBelly to deliver, we knew that it was a decision made in #FoodExplorers heaven. Look for our products on GoldBelly.com or use our FruitLocator.com to find our products in a grocery store near you.
