October 17, 2017 | New York State: Crunch Time Apple Growers had one goal in mind when starting their brand refresh for SnapDragon® Apples for 2017 – engage their consumers, and sell more apples than ever before. They took a multi-tiered approach to this challenge by creating a new website, fresh social media channels, and a whole new look for the apple that is poised to replace some older varieties in the produce aisle.
SnapDragons’ brand refresh led to creating partnerships that support the value proposition of SnapDragon Apples as a healthy snack for consumers with an active lifestyle. This includes jumping on board as the official apple sponsor of the popular nationwide Tough Mudder events that boast an online audience of over 3 million. The company also created a prize-rich promotion with Schwinn bicycles that opened October 5th. Crunch Time Apple Growers and Schwinn are giving away a bike a week throughout the month of November.
“Something we discovered when we executed our online strategy, was there was an audience of SnapDragon enthusiasts out there waiting for our apple and trying to buy it before we had even started picking.” Montedoro points to fans Like Debbie Selke of Schenectady, New York. “Mrs. Selke literally drove from market to market ”Seeking the Snap.” Montedoro says and another promotion was born. The Seek the Snap Campaign will open the week of October 23rd and run through the end of December. SnapDragon fans on Facebook can share where they purchased their SnapDragons and be entered to win free apples and a tote bag. “We want to further engage our online fans as well as show retailers that consumers are demanding our product and sometimes go to great lengths to get their ‘Snaps.”
The promotions run this season for the SnapDragon Apple have been extremely successful so far. Montedoro reports over 8,000 people signed up in the first week of the Schwinn promotion on the SnapDragon website. On the Facebook and Twitter side the SnapDragon views have jumped from 15 to over 85,000 in 60 days. Montedoro points out traditional methods like boosting help but conversations on Facebook with their core consumers tell the real story. “People love this apple. Our consumers tell us SnapDragon has replaced every other apple for them — including Honeycrisp.” In-store demos this season at a variety of retailers are also helping to build the SnapDragon fanbase and allow more people to discover the artisanal appeal and monster crunch of the apples.
From a marketing perspective, this is gold for the 145 farmers who grow the SnapDragon Apple. The farmers operate under the name Crunch Time Apple Growers. Montedoro says “Our most important marketing objective is to build our consumer base and share our exceptional apples with as many people as possible.” In turn, Montedoro wants to highlight the retailers who carry SnapDragons’ and help drive consumers to their doors to purchase.
SnapDragon officially launched in 2015, and is a descendent of the Honeycrisp variety. Its flavor profile, size and extra crunchy “snap” proved to be a winning combination among millennial and baby boomer consumers. Crunch Time Apple Growers realized a 60% increase in harvest this year. You can find SnapDragon at a host of national retail chains like Costco, HEB, Aldi and Whole Foods as well as Crunch Time Apple Growers farm stands across the state of New York. For more information on where to find Snap this season, please visit Snapdragonapple.com