Perlim Dolce Vita apple wants to compete with summer fruit

Alliance Perlim Meylim's new apple variety, Perlim® Dolce Vita Gradisca, has just entered the market in the third part of the season. It is a measured gamble for this French family business that has been pursuing a diversification strategy for several years. The Perlim® Dolce Vita apple is already established in Italy, its country of origin, but the two-tone apple has many assets to also conquer the French market at a time when summer fruit gradually make their way on the shelves. Apple segmentation is reaching its limits in France, with shrinking ranges linked to dropping purchasing power, but the new Perlim® Dolce Vita intends to become a benchmark on the market.

Photo credit: Perlim Meylim

A French apple for the third part of the season
"Today, we do not launch apples on the market that do not have a real product feature (taste difference, in this case, linked to altitude). It has to be a real plus for distributors and consumers alike," explains Béatrice Chauffaille, marketing and communications manager for the Perlim-Meylim Alliance. With a campaign running from mid-April to mid-August, the Perlim® Dolce Vita is a late-season apple, designed to arrive at a time when apples disappear from the shelves to make way for stone fruit. "It is an apple that could be sold all year round but as it keeps very well, we decided to offer it in the stores when the market is clearing up, rather than at the height of the season, when many varieties are represented and our clients tend to reduce the number of references on the shelves."

A "turnkey" apple for supermarkets
Among the few apple varieties still on the shelves today, "we find the Pink Lady®, which is certainly popular but has no link to the terroir, alongside the Fuji, Golden and some local apples such as the Chanteclerc variety." This range is set to shrink further over the coming weeks. "With the economic crisis, retailers tend to refocus on essential products. Consumers are increasingly reluctant to try new apples. It is difficult for a new variety to make its mark in the current context. With the Perlim® Dolce Vita, we want to offer an apple that tastes good, is easy to stock and 'ticks all the boxes'. This apple is both affordable for consumers and profitable for growers. It is 100% French, even at the end of the season, with HEV and Eco-Responsible Orchards certifications, a true terroir identity and everything to please in terms of taste."

Photo credit: Perlim Meylim

A sweet snack apple
In order to compete with summer fruits, which are appreciated for their freshness, juiciness and high sugar content, and to be one of the few apples on the market at this time of year, some requirements have to be met. "The Perlim®Dolce Vita is the result of a cross between Cripps Pink and Fuji. Its color is similar to that of a Pink Lady, but it is comparable to a Fuji in terms of sweetness (14-16 degrees brix). It is characterized by its crunchiness, with a firmness of 7-8 and a slight hint of acidity. It is a nice-looking apple that appeals to the younger generation, who are more attracted to red apples. It is dynamic, fresh, juicy, thirst-quenching and very sweet, which is why we position it as an easy spring/summer snack."

Photo credit: Perlim Meylim

A target of 50 hectares of plantations by 2028
Nearly 500 tons are available for this year's first marketing campaign. The Alliance chose Gradisca because it deeply believes in its potential and because it is a terroir club variety that "expresses its full potential at an altitude, where apples are naturally crisper and more intense in taste than on the plains." Introducing this new variety to the Perlim Meylim Alliance makes sense and reinforces its varietal diversification.

"It is a variety that was recommended by the Melinda group (well known for its Golden DOP), located in the Val di non, which grows it on high-altitude land.

Like the Melinda group, we have a co-branding agreement and exclusive rights to produce and market this variety in France. Today, we have planted the variety on 25 hectares and we plan to plant 50 hectares by 2028."

The company is primarily targeting the French market, but intends to push marketing beyond the French borders, to Spain and England in particular.