CDS anticipates increase in Smitten apples

San Francisco-based CDS Distributing Inc. will have a significant increase in volume of Smitten variety apples this season, as the company marks its 40th year in business, said Jan Garrett, vice president of marketing. The firm started marketing Smitten apples the week of Sept. 10 and expects to ship them at least until the end of the year. So far, the company has had good reaction to the Smitten variety.

Photo courtesy of Blind Renaissance.

“People who purchase it continue to come back and ask for it over and over,” Garrett said.

Smitten is a “sweet, yet tart” cross between Fiesta, Falstaff, gala and braeburn varieties. It seems to be an apple that is good for consumers, growers and the industry, she said.

CDS imports Smitten, fuji, braeburn and several other varieties from New Zealand during the summer, she added. CDS is the exclusive distributor of the Smitten apple variety in the Bay Area and works with every major Northwest shipper to procure apples. All of the company’s specialty apples are organically grown, and many end up at the company’s hard cidery in Washington.

CDS brokers apples, pears, and cherries from the Northwest and also grows them through Harmony Orchards. The company provides year-round availability of all of its products except cherries thanks to a strong import program from Chile and New Zealand. Cherries are imported from December through February and sourced domestically from May through early September.

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