It was in 2000 that consumers officially tasted HoneyCrunch® apples for the first time. In 2020, on the occasion of the 20th marketing season of the club variety, the Innatis Group decided to update its graphic identity, which will be officially launched in the coming weeks. “We want to mark the occasion without making any big changes. By modernizing our logo a little, we want to make a slight evolution without any revolution,” explains Arnaud de Puineuf, marketing director of Innatis Group.

Lower volumes for a higher quality
The harvest is currently in full swing in the orchards of the Loire Valley. “This year, the volumes are lower than last year, but the calibers are much bigger and the quality is much better. We’ve gained almost two calibers compared to 2019, when we had relatively small calibers. Regarding the sugar levels, they are 1 to 1.5 point higher than the previous harvest. We are therefore expecting a good 2020 harvest and we hope that the lower production volumes will be good for marketing.”

A growing organic offer
The marketing of the French harvest will begin next week already. “It will be followed, 15 days later, by our German production, with 20 producers for 52 hectares of orchards. Contrary to the French production, we expect normal volumes this year for the German harvest. Additionally, 250 tons of organic HoneyCrunch® from Germany will be marketed this year. This harvest volume will increase in two years thanks to the 16.5 hectares currently undergoing organic conversion in France.”

Despite Covid-19, the desire to reduce plastic packaging remains
Last year, Innatis launched a range of three pre-packed 100% recyclable cardboard packages. “We shipped 620 tons of HoneyCrunch® packed in 100% recyclable cardboard trays, which is about 780,000 trays in total. A nice performance for a first trial year. At the moment, despite the influence of Covid-19, our clients are not asking us to go back to the plastic-wrapped tray. We still feel this desire to replace plastic with recycled cardboard.”

For more information:
Arnaud de Puineuf
Groupe Innatis
Phone: +33 (2) 41 37 70 09
Arnaud.depuineuf@pomanjou.fr    
www.pomanjou.com