Ken Korson, sales and apple category manager for North Bay Produce, a Traverse City, MI-based cooperative of growers, is charged with managing the apple sheds daily based on what the customers want and what the growers have to pack. 

When the holiday season wraps up, most retail sets move into the health and wellness theme for the new year. Apples from Michigan certainly fill that description, with shoppers focused on adding more fruit and vegetables into their diet. 

At BelleHarvest, the apple category does experience a shift in Q1, and this year will be no different according to Angie Sommers, director of marketing for the Belding, MI-based company.

Greenridge Fruit, which specializes in apples, has been around for more than 30 years and experienced the ups, downs, and changes that have occurred in the industry during that time. 

BelleHarvest was established in 1957, therefore its roots within the apple industry are deep and its experience and reputation are well known.

With an estimated crop size down about 15 percent from the previous year and coming on a bit earlier than expected, it appears the end of the Michigan apple harvest period will occur around Halloween, which is a week to 10 days ahead of schedule.

BelleHarvest, a grower-owned distributor of fresh apples in Michigan, celebrated National Apple Month with a Curious Pairings event in Grand Rapids, MI, on Saturday, Oct. 16.

The three-part event was a day-long immersion where young-adult influencers were paired with The Ginger Chef, Jennifer Zirkle-Grawburg for an exploration of flavors and recipes featuring BelleHarvest’s apples. Influencers were invited to pick fruit, create curious culinary pairings, then serve the pairings to a group of BelleHarvest’s growers and team members.