Midwest Apple To Be Marketed Abroad
February 2, 2016 
Something big has happened for the Midwest Apple Improvement Association (MAIA). Building on the success of its first release, EverCrisp, and new varieties coming down the pike, the grower-driven breeding group recently signed an agreement with the International Pome Fruit Alliance (IPA) for the development of MAIA’s first release under the trademark EverCrisp.
MAIA executive director Bill Dodd was on hand for the signing of the agreement, which took place during IPA’s annual meeting in Berlin, Germany.
Dodd says after the signing, everyone shared a few celebratory EverCrisp apples.
“It was the best apple I’ve ever eaten, I don’t know if it was the excitement of the day, but it was awesome,” he says.
The first step of this agreement is an evaluation and testing phase with IPA members to see how the variety performs in climates outside of the U.S., and naturally what type of rootstocks available worldwide that the variety works well on.
“Anything and everything you can imagine with the production side of it is going to need to be evaluated and tested. Once we get to the point where there’s trees in the ground, then we can start projecting production and start working on the marketing plan. It’s very much the beginning and there’s still lots and lots to do,” says Dodd American Fruit Grower® and Western Fruit Grower® magazines’ 2015 Apple Grower of the YearSM.
If things go well through the trial and evaluation process, then a joint-venture company would be established as part of the agreement to develop and market the EverCrisp brand worldwide outside of the U.S. This agreement is specific to EverCrisp, Dodd says.
IPA focuses on procurement, testing, and commercialization of new pome fruit varieties.
“It’s the first international endeavor like this for them,” Dodd says. “They’re a relatively newly formed group. This is the first international variety that they will take to the world. They’re as excited as we are.”
IPA members include apple and pear marketers and packers from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Chile, Europe, as well as the U.S.
EverCrisp, a Honeycrisp and Fuji cross, is the first apple released by MAIA. The organization first began breeding apples about 20 years ago. The variety since then has made a name for itself stateside thanks to its sweet flavor and storability.
“Everyone in the MAIA organization is thrilled, tickled, and just very pleased with the agreement and we continue to be very, very excited about the apple,” Dodd says. “At the end of the day it’s all going to be about the EverCrisp brand – promoting the brand and building the brand – and making it successful. It’s going to be a joint venture so there will be input from both the MAIA side and IPA side moving forward. They’re excited and we’re excited too.”
Subscribe Today For
