Record shipment of Chilean Honeycrisp apples to arrive in U.S.
A record shipment of Chilean Honeycrisp from Honeybear Brands’ Southern Hemisphere orchards is set to arrive at major U.S. retail stores this week. 
The 2017 Chilean Honeycrisp deal is the largest in Honeybear’s ten-year program, which it says brings freshness at a time when local inventories are low and flavor is waning from months of cold storage.
Honeybear Brands attributed the volume increase to several factors: the natural maturation of its orchards, excellent growing conditions and the company working with "exceptional local growing partners who understand the many nuances of growing and optimizing premium apple production in their local micro climates."
"We made a commitment to our retail partners a long time ago to bring them premium varieties with a just picked freshness wherever and whenever they need it,” vice president of sales and marketing Don Roper said.
“Clearly our just harvested Southern Hemisphere crop provides a much improved flavor profile for customers versus domestically-grown Honeycrisp at this time of year.
"Honeycrisp grown in the United States was harvested eight months ago and has lost its distinctive crispness as well as the delicate balance of sweet and tart flavors that really sets the apple apart from all others.”
Roper added the Chilean Honeycrisp crop was a "big opportunity" for Honeybear’s national retail partners too, which could "aggressively drive new and increased sales at this traditionally slower time of year for apple sales."
Leading retailers featuring the Honeybear Chilean Honeycrisp include Hy-Vee, Publix, Loblaws, United Supermarkets, Cub Foods, SuperValu, Central Market, Coborns and Sam’s Club in more than 100 markets across the country
Honeybear Brands and parent Wescott Agri Products were granted exclusive production and commercialization rights for the Chilean Honeycrisp by the University of Minnesota, developer and owner of the original variety.
The company was one of the first to grow Honeycrisp in Washington state and Chile.
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