WASHINGTON STATE - We are in a field in constant transformation. Come the good, bad, and the ugly, two of our many strengths are the ability to weather the headwinds together and celebrate our collaborative successes as a community. The Annual SugarBee® Grower Meeting achieves both.
“This meeting is a time of fellowship, reflection, celebration, and strategic planning. Each year, we invite stakeholders to join together to discuss the state of the fresh apple field and SugarBee’s role in it,” Julie DeJarnatt, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, Chelan Fresh, shares with me. “We talk openly about those headwinds—both from a grower and retail perspective. It is not easy to be an apple grower today. Too many multi-generational farming families are having to make the hard decision to reduce their acreage or, in some cases, even stop growing altogether. But, when growers look at their returns each season, SugarBee is a bright spot. This is not by accident.”
Julie adds this truth, one that is not surprising considering the minds behind the SugarBee apple.
“From the very beginning, SugarBee has been managed differently,” she elaborates. “It is grown with tight controls, packed with the highest standards, and marketed like a consumer brand versus just another produce SKU line extension. These family-run farming operations entrust our team with a portion of their return each season to invest in the long-term future of the variety. We review how that money was invested, what worked and what didn’t, and what is on the horizon to not only maintain our premium position in the market, but to push even further into becoming a household name.”
The SugarBee variety continues to deliver value to both growers and retailers by not being overproduced.
“We have kept supply in line with demand while building consumer brand interest and purchase intent,” she states. “Coupled with a premium apple that stores year-round, this balance delivers strong grower returns and drives retailer sales.”
Each year brings together a host of different sectors from across the SugarBee universe. In 2025, the annual event welcomed 78 SugarBee growers who joined the leadership teams from Sales, Marketing, and Warehouse Operations, plus a well-known keynote speaker from the retail field.
“This year, we did a role reversal and offered the attendees an opportunity to view SugarBee through the lenses of consumers and retail buyers,” Julie describes.
The meeting opened with an influencer-partner developed lunch menu highlighting the strongest-performing recipes and showing the creative ways SugarBee educates consumers on the unique benefits and versatility of the variety.
“They were introduced to our target customers, Kathy and Katy, and saw how we tailor outreach to drive awareness and purchase intent,” Julie says. “We invited a keynote speaker from one of our largest retail partners to share their view of the fresh apple field, headwinds and tailwinds affecting their business today, shopper buying trends, and how they have partnered to make SugarBee apples a preferred variety for their store operators and shoppers.”
In addition, the Warehouse Operations teams reviewed the 2024/25 crop results and provided guidance on how to harvest the 2025/26 season for the highest packout and season-long quality.
“It was also such a gift to recognize the SugarBee Growers of the Year, with four families being honored for their growing practices and fruit performance,” Julie shares. “And, last but far from least, we unveiled some ‘Big Bet’ strategic initiatives for the upcoming season!”
While the mission ahead is full of unknowns, there are certainties that continue making SugarBee, and the team behind the apple, a value proposition worth continued investment.
“We will always lead with the eating experience of a fresh SugarBee apple. Consumers today are savvy; they recognize if corners are being cut when their favorite apple doesn’t have the same crispy, juicy bite every time. We will fiercely protect that from farm to shelf, basket to counter. Beyond availability at retail, we are on a mission to make SugarBee apples a household name—leaning into defined KPIs for every marketing dollar, while charting new ways to connect with consumers.”
The future looks sweet for SugarBee.
