VOG is to produce Crimson Snow?

A new Club apple is to be added to the assortment offered by the VOG Consortium, which from 2020 will be planting trees to produce Crimson Snow?, which has crimson skin and white flesh. Developed in Australia as variety ?MC38?, the apple was bred by Kiku Variety Management, its world licensee and brand right-holder, with which VOG has now signed a contract. The Consortium's growers will be dedicating 100 hectares of land to the production of Crimson Snow?. The new variety has excellent keeping properties, with a storage life of almost 12 months with all its characteristics intact. It is therefore ideal for sale in the second half of the season, when availability of other red-skin varieties tends to dry up. The fruit does not bruise and is easy to process, giving the prospects of good returns for the trade. But above all, it is good to eat: Crimson Snow? is crisp and juicy, with the right blend of sweet and sour. The new variety joins the other 7 Club applies which the VOG Consortium already grows and markets: Kanzi?, Pink Lady?, Rubens?, Mod?, Jazz?, envy? and yello?. ?The contract signed for Crimson Snow? is part of the VOG Consortium's ongoing research and development strategy" states VOG Director Gerhard Dichgans. "We are firmly convinced that the future of apples depends on innovation: new varieties with outstanding characteristics and use properties are proving very effective in winning back consumers. During its first few years on the market, Crimson Snow? has already proven its worth, so we believe it can perform very well for us." ?The agreement with VOG means more growth for Crimson Snow?" states J?rgen Braun, CEO of Kiku Variety Management. "We see it as a major step in our apple's development: the Consortium's strength and reliability make it an ideal partner. We're looking for land suitable for growing the new apple, and the VOG growers' valley bottom orchards fit the bill perfectly. The new alliance will make an important contribution to the new apple's success." Consumer acceptance of Crimson Snow? is very high: consumers love its bright red skin colour (crimson, as the name suggests), combined with its snow-white flesh and exotic flavour. The key market for club apples is currently Italy and Europe, but in view of its sensory characteristics and long shelf life, Crimson Snow? is also highly suitable for export over long distances. Crimson Snow? is also grown in Italy by Rivoira Giovanni & Figli, Sanifrutta, Fratelli Clementi and Bio Meran. The total area allocated to the new Club apple in the country at present is almost 400 hectares, with the target of reaching 550 by 2022 (700 Europe-wide). This year's crop was 4,500 tonnes. In a few years' time, when all the planned hectares have been planted (although are not necessarily in full production), Italian output of 20 thousand tonnes is estimated.KIKU Variety ManagementFounded in 1999 by brothers Thomas and J?rgen Braun, it now enjoys worldwide recognition through its KIKU? premium brand. It has always focused primarily on research and development, aiming to select new varieties that will capture consumers and at the same time generate satisfaction for growers. Branding also plays a fundamental role in this process for KIKU, a vertically integrated organisation that analyses and organises every step, from the variety's birth through to its arrival on the shelves. KIKU currently manages 5 global club varieties: KIKU?, the snack apple ISAAQ, Crimson Snow?, red-flesh variety Red Moon? and the resistant SWING?. VOG ConsortiumMore than 616 thousand tonnes of eating apples harvested in the 2016 campaign, almost a third of the entire Italian crop and about 6% of the European apple crop. Over 10.700 hectares of orchards in the Alto Adige region. Fourteen member cooperatives and 5,000 family farms. Turnover that reached 416.6 million Euro in the 2015/2016 season. These are the vital statistics of VOG, the Alto Adige Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Consortium, Europe's biggest in terms of number of member farms. Founded in 1945, today VOG markets its apples in 30 countries, both under the S?dtiroler Apfel g.g.A.? label and with the Marlene? brand, available in Italy, Spain, Malta, Cyprus, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark. The Consortium is also a member of the Pink Lady?, Kanzi?, Mod?, Rubens?, Jazz?, envy?, yello? and, from today, the Crimson Snow? Variety Growers' Clubs.