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Varieties | Apple and Pear Variety Chart | Point-of-Sale Materials | Storage
and Display | Handling Apples | Merchandising | Apple Grades
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Retailer Information at a Glance
Profits in the Crunch
Freshen up sales with Crisp and Crunchy Nova Scotia
Apples!
Handle with care
Apples
are fragile - treat them gently. Hand fill bulk apple displays no more than
three layers deep to avoid bruised fruit and to create neat, clean-looking
displays. Avoid high stacks of cartons or bags, as bottom layers may be bruised
from the pressure. Always rotate displays (first in - first out), culling
bruised or overripe apples before they begin to decay and cause others to
breakdown. Apples absorb odours and should be kept away from products with
strong odours, such as onions. Apples produce ethylene gas as they ripen. Locate
them away from leafy greens, carrots, and flora products affected by ethylene.
Let your variety
show
According to the International Apple Institute, offering five
varieties of apples instead of one will increase total sales by up to 36%, and
the addition of good informative displays (posters, variety cards, bin wraps,
nutrition and recipe information) will increase sales by up to 112%. Entice
customers to sample varieties by offering in-store sampling.
It's cool to be
cool
Apples love to be cool and should be displayed in refrigerated cases
for maximum freshness and appeal. Apples are best stored and displayed at 0° to
4°C, with 90% relative humidity. They are moderately sensitive to chill injury
and will freeze at -1.5°C. Apples soften 10 times faster at 22°C than at 0°C.
Depending on the variety, storage life varies from 1 to 12 months.
Making good grades
Apples
retailed in Canada are subject to Federal and/or Provincial grading standards
according to colour, size, and quality. The grades are Canada Extra Fancy,
Canada Fancy, and Canada Commercial. Most apples with a certain degree and depth
of varietal colour and with a uniform shape and size (2 3/8" min. diam.) would
be graded Canada Fancy, for example; Commercial, or "C," grade apples may have
less colour then Canada Fancy or they may have irregular shapes or slight
cosmetic defects, but they are a great choice for cooking.
To Market, To
Market
Effective merchandising techniques will go a long way to
increasing profits from your produce department. Attractive, well-managed and
informative displays create new opportunities to attract and better inform your
customers. Apples can be cross-merchandised with other lunch box suggestions,
such as raisins. The possibilities are endless.