The Kissabel® season starts from the orange and yellow varieties harvest in the UK, France and Switzerland

Twenty years ago a team of passionate French breeders started to cross wild red fleshed apples with high quality varieties. They searched for apples with extraordinary inner beauty. After years of research and four generations of breeding, it resulted in five Kissabel® apple commercial varieties with colored-flesh: 2 yellow, 1 orange, and 2 red skin.

Now the new Kissabel® apple season has begun in Europe. The IFORED project partners from the UK, France and Switzerland started harvesting colored-flesh Orange and Yellow Kissabel® varieties. The first variety has a skin with orange/pink pigmentation, intense pink flesh and a strongly flavored refreshing taste, and the second has a yellow skin, pink flesh and a balanced flavor. New season's figures for the project’s partners are largely positive, in terms of both quality and interest from customers and consumers.

The IFORED project brings together 14 partners from 13 different countries, which are in charge of production and marketing of Kissabel® apples.

The increased sweetness is the main feature of the new Kissabel® apples for the UK.

Anna Coxe, Head of Technical and Quality at Greenyard, said, “The harvest started in mid-September. Our orange and yellow Kissabel® varieties show a very good pigmentation and a very consistent internal color. Their taste is excellent too, with a sweet, almost berry-type flavour. We had great feedback from retailers – they’ve never seen anything like Kissabel® before and they are looking forward to the new season”.

Hannah Martin, Commercial Director at World Wide Fruit, commented, “Our Kissabel® apples will be available from October – we are enthusiastic about the season and about the project. Kissabel® are apples that deliver the ‘wow’ factor to consumers looking for something different”.

France partners also happy with the apples’ quality, which has lived up to expectations.

Marc Peyres, Export Sales Manager at Blue Whale, said, “Kissabel® are the first red-flesh apples sold in quantity with success – it’s a completely new thing and we are very happy to be part of the project. There are a lot of new varieties on the market, but these apples are amazing in the inside, new-looking and with an excellent taste too”.

Francois Mestre, co-manager at Mesfruits, reported, “We are very positive about this season, and already have big demand from retailers – clients who had Kissabel® apples last year can’t wait to have them again.”

More good news has come from the Swiss market.

Christian Bertholet, Category Manager Fruits at La Montagne – Union Fruits Fenaco, commented, “With the beginning of the season, we are sending samples to all our customers and also presenting Kissabel® at an event with major cooking chefs from Switzerland”. There is huge interest in these new apples.”

Concerning the first Kissabel® Red apples, it will arrive in Europe in October, after the Kissabel® Orange harvest in September. Mainly growing in Italy and Germany, they are red inside and outside, with an intense flavor and notes of red fruit.

For more information visit Kissabel’s website.