WENATCHEE, WA – Several weeks and over 25,000 online votes later, the U.S. Apple Association’s March Madness Chompionship is down to two finalists for the association's winning title of America’s Favorite Apple; one of which is CMI’s own Ambrosia™ Apple.
Wendy Brannen, Director of Consumer Health and Public Relations said in a recent statement released by the U.S. Apple Association, “After four exciting weeks of fiercely-close battles among popular favorites, potential upsets from up-and-coming varieties, and an all-round slam dunk in participation from members, we’re excited to unveil the two varieties consumers have selected to go head-to-head for the title of America’s Favorite Apple. And the final match-up is between Fuji and Ambrosia™.”
At the start of the competition, the U.S. Apple Association set up a national online contest, matching up each apple competitor in a 32 bracket system familiar to those who use the NCAA basketball bracking system. After a surprising bump of Honeycrisp, said U.S. Apple Association, only Fuji and Ambrosia™ are left to vye for the top spot.
“We are incredibly honored that Ambrosia™ apples made it this far, “said Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing at CMI, in a press release. “Ambrosia™ is one of the fastest growing apple varieties in America; consumers are remarkably passionate about their sweet, honey-like flavor and consistent crisp quality and can’t get enough of them. We had hoped this would show up in the voting and are so pleased that it did.”
Citing U.S. supermarket sales data from Nielson, CMI said that Ambrosia™ has delivered the highest volume growth date of any of the top 10 apple varities in the U.S., moving up in the numbers from last year.
“CMI growers are working hard to keep up with the explosion in popularity as more consumers discover Ambrosia™,” continued Lutz. “With production increasing annually and consistent year-round availability, Ambrosia™ is poised for continued success in the U.S. as more retailers discover the tremendous sales opportunity brought by adding Ambrosia™ to their offering.”
A CMI exclusive, Ambrosia™ apples are grown solely by McDougall & Sons, an owner of CMI. The company said that it has high hopes for the product’s performance in the Chompionship final.
“Fuji is a strong, popular apple,” finished Lutz. “But we like Ambrosia’s™ chances. We expect Ambrosia™ to emerge from the consumer voting in the March National Chompionship earning the title of America’s Favorite Apple.”
Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow for contest results and exciting product news in the industry.
