WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt Growers celebrated its signature Rave® apple in The Big Apple last week, with the company’s first-ever pop-up shop. The apple grower, packer, and shipper took over 393 Broadway from August 16th through the 18th with a tongue-in-cheek version of tech titan Apple, Inc.’s Apple Stores.
“The Rave apple pop-up shop was a surprise and a delight for people across the Big Apple last weekend,” said Brianna Shales, Communications Manager. “Pop-up shops are common in New York, but no one had been to a ‘real’ apple shop before. It was a great way to give people a first taste of our new release, Rave, and share its unique flavor, story, and seasonality.”
At the shop, Stemilt sampled and shared more than 2,500 Rave apples with people and earned more than 25,000 impressions with those passing the shop during the three-day experience.
Stemilt designed the pop-up shop to mirror an actual Apple store, with white walls, simple graphics, and a wall of Rave apples. The shop’s outside marquee and window signage teased those passing the shop the days leading up to the event about a new apple release. And once it came time to open the shop’s doors, the company noted, media, residents, and tourists alike were intrigued by what they would find inside.
“We had many people walk in thinking they would find smartphones and tablets,” said Shales. “Once the initial shock wore off, people were excited to give Rave a try, and after the first bite, they recognized and enjoyed its crunch, incredible juice, and zing.”
The goal behind the event, Stemilt expressed in its press release, was to both introduce New Yorkers to Rave and to stir up media excitement. The event resonated with tech publications like The Verge, Entrepreneur, and Cult of Mac, in addition to food and lifestyle influencers like the Nutrition Twins.
Stemilt also held a special event for a culinary meet-up group from the Leisurely App on its final day of the shop, where Shales led a salad recipe demonstration, apple and cheese pairing, and shared information about Rave and Stemilt’s family farming story.
“The Rave apple season is short yet sweet and the pop-up experience proved to be a great way to help people start recognizing the apple’s name and branding,” said Shales. “We met people from different states, countries, and of course apple enthusiasts from the heart of NYC that, once they tried it, couldn’t wait to hear where they could buy the apple.”
Stemilt began its second Rave season the first week of August and expects to wrap up the season in early September. And as the short Rave® season carries on, Stemilt will continue to create excitement for the apple through a social sharing campaign called #PassTheRave. The company is inviting people to pass a note of appreciation—or “rave review”—to a friend, family member, and colleague. Visitors enter the recipient’s name, upload three photos of them together, and get a personalized video to share with them. The recipient is encouraged to #PassTheRave onto someone else.
“Rave colors and ripens in late July and has the unique position of being the first apple off the tree in Washington state. Its arrival in markets now signal the start of apple season, and as our pop-up shop showed us, shoppers love its outrageous juice and refreshing, snappy zing,” added Shales. “Rave is the social apple. As much as we love people to rave about Rave, we also want to spread positivity from person-to-person, and that’s what our #PassTheRave videos are doing,”
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