Starting in July, the VOG Consortium, a key player in Italian and international apple production, is making its market debut with the new cherry brand Ciliegie delle Alpi.

Cherries are a particularly popular summer fruit and have long been produced by many of the members of the 12 cooperatives that make up the South Tyrolean Consortium, the organization said.

“We have been carefully and consistently working on this project for several years,” explains Walter Pardatscher, CEO of the VOG Consortium.

“Innovation is integral to our Consortium and the time had come to expand our range, expanding it with a fruit to which we could give the same care, dedication and passion that we devote to cultivating our apples.”

This year’s production has seen around 200 tonnes, about 30 percent less than the quantities expected, due to frost damage. The two varieties grown are Regina and Kordia: particularly sweet, juicy and crunchy, they enjoy an ideal habitat at the foothills of the Alps Regina and Kordia, which are particularly sweet, juicy and crunchy and enjoy an ideal habitat at the foot of the Alps.

“These are two late varieties which, thanks to the altitude of the fields where they are grown, all located above 600 meters, ripen slowly and steadily, enhancing the balance, skin firmness and sweetness of the fruit,” adds Klaus Hölzl, Sales Manager at the VOG Consortium.

Ciliegie delle Alpi will be sold in Italy through the wholesale channels of the large-scale retail trade.

“They are a premium product aimed at very discerning consumers,” concludes Walter Pardatscher. "It is an opportunity for our Consortium to expand its range, providing its customers and end consumers with the same high level of quality and service that it has always delivered with apples.”