A consumer study by Category Partners and CMI Orchards crowned Ambrosia Gold® as the #1 preferred apple in blind taste tests against seven other high-flavor branded and core varieties. In all, 85 percent of participants ranked Ambrosia Gold in their top three, with 75 percent preferring it over its comparable core variety, Gala.
If retailers aren't carrying Ambrosia Gold, the company recommends replacing one Gala SKU with Ambrosia Gold to attract mild apple fans.
"We selected Gala for the match-up against Ambrosia Gold, as both apples satisfy consumers seeking mild, low-acid sweet apples. Ambrosia Gold apples captivated surveyed participants with their honey sweetness and bi-colored yellow and pink-blushed appearance," says Rochelle Bohm, vice president of marketing at CMI Orchards. "Crisp and slow to brown, the apple is a natural upgrade for shoppers seeking a mild, low-acid apple with high sugar content. Our study shows it excels in flavor and appearance, even surpassing Honeycrisp in texture. Ambrosia Gold dominated our entire study with the highest scores in every category."
"The apple blends apple innovation with wide appeal and high consumer satisfaction," says CMI's vice president of business strategy Loren Foss.
The McDougall family.
If retailers aren't carrying Ambrosia Gold, the company recommends replacing one Gala SKU with Ambrosia Gold to attract mild apple fans and capitalize on the trade-up opportunity. "Gala is an important variety and one of the best-selling apples in the U.S.A.," says Foss. "We're not saying remove Gala from the shelf altogether, but to allocate one of many Gala SKUs to Ambrosia Gold—trade shoppers up, elevate their eating experience, and give retailers a fresh tool to capture incremental sales."
CMI has custom signage ready. "The 'Like Gala? You'll LOVE Ambrosia Gold' campaign includes stanchion signage and shelf point-of-sale materials to promote this upgrade," says Bohm. "Retailers can work with us to customize in-store and online marketing."
Left to right: Rochelle Bohm, Loren Foss
After launching into the American market, Foss says the McDougall family held exclusive rights as the sole U.S. licensed growers for a decade. "The McDougall family are visionaries in orchard management and were the first to introduce Ambrosia to the U.S. from Canada, skyrocketing it from an unknown variety to one of the top-selling apples in America," says Foss. "Our brand, Ambrosia Gold, represents the gold standard of Ambrosia Apples."
To see more on the study, click here.
For more information:
Ashlyn Lewis
CMI Orchards, LLC
Tel: +1 (509) 888-3434 (office) ext. 112
[email protected]
www.cmiorchards.com