Italian apple group VOG is making its market debut in cherries with the launch of its new Ciliegie delle Alpi brand.
Cherries are a particularly popular summer fruit and have long been produced by many of the members of the 12 cooperatives that make up the South Tyrolean consortium.
“We have been carefully and consistently working on this project for several years,” said VOG’s CEO Walter Pardatscher.
“Innovation is integral to our consortium and the time had come to expand our range, expanding it with a fruit to which we could give the same care, dedication and passion that we devote to cultivating our apples.”
The group expects to market around 200 tonnes of cherries this season, around 30 per cent less than the original forecast due to frost damage.
VOG describes the two varieties it produces, Regina and Kordia, as “sweet, juicy and crunchy, they enjoy an ideal habitat at the foothills of the Alps”.
Sales manager Klaus Hölzl commented: “These are two late varieties which, thanks to the altitude of the fields where they are grown, all located above 600 metres, ripen slowly and steadily, enhancing the balance, skin firmness and sweetness of the fruit”.
Ciliegie delle Alpi will be sold in Italy through the wholesale channels of the large-scale retail trade.
“They are a premium product aimed at very discerning consumers,” said Pardatscher. “This is an opportunity for our consortium to expand its range, providing our customers and end consumers with the same high level of quality and service that we have always delivered with apples.”
