The sweet thing with zing!

Say hello to Sassy, the lovable new apple from Aotearoa* New Zealand. Luscious, crunchy, and adorned with a deep red colour that permeates goodness with every bite. She is completely delicious, with the perfect balance of sweetness and attitude.

The luscious apple with attitude

Sassy has a quirky conical shape with intense ruby colour and attractive light-yellow background. Firm and crisp, every bite meets you with a pleasant balance of sweet zing and a mild after-taste. This striking apples’ parentage consists of Scifresh, Fuji and Sciros.

Discover Sassy’s little secret: Anthocyanins

The deep red skin has shown high level of anthocyanins – so much so that sometimes when you cut or bite into Sassy, the red colour actually seeps into the white flesh of the apple.

Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with antioxidant effects. Found naturally in a number of foods, anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue plants their rich coloring.

Characteristics

Taste

Sassy has superb eating quality. Firm and crisp to bite, with the perfect balance of sweet and mild taste. She is satisfying, delicious, and packs a crunch.

Appearance

At full maturity, Sassy is a medium size, full block-red with attractive light-yellow background, and an asymmetrical conical shape. When cut, the redness from the skin subtly permeates the flesh.

Personality

Sassy is unapologetically unique. Her brilliant red skin, snappy crunch, and sweet taste are wrapped up in a quirky conical shape. Put simply, she has zing.

Provenance

Developed in New Zealand, this striking apples’ parentage consists of Scifresh, Fuji and Sciros. Early harvest window and long shelf life make Sassy the perfect export apple.

Growing the World’s Best Apples

New Zealand is one of the best apple-growing countries in the world, and also one of the best at breeding new varieties. New Zealand science company Plant & Food Research (PFR) has over 40 years’ experience in developing new fruit, vegetable, arable and ornamental cultivars. PFR’s apple breeding programme is focused on new cultivars that have the factors that appeal to both consumers and growers around the world: crisp texture, high flavour, long storage and shelf life, novel skin and flesh colour, optimal harvest maturity and pest and disease resistance. Sassy combines years of research and expert cultivating to create an apple that exemplifies the best of these traits.

Collaborate to Innovate

Developed by New Zealand’s crown research organisation Plant and Food Research (PFR), and commercialised by Prevar New Zealand. Next Generation Apples own the global licensing rights, a collaboration between multi-generational New Zealand-based growers Taylor and Golden Bay Fruit.

Established in two of New Zealand’s prime apple-growing regions – Golden Bay and Hawke’s Bay – together, Golden Bay Fruit and Taylor have more than 150 years of apple-growing experience. Both are family-owned, vertically integrated apple businesses. Family values and a passion for growing are firmly entrenched in their DNA.

While their histories run deep, Golden Bay Fruit and Taylor are equally as passionate about modern planting techniques, embracing innovation and technology and providing consumers with great apples. Together, taking new varieties to the world is the latest addition to their long and colourful stories. It’s going to be an exciting new chapter.

Sassy Availability

Sassy apples are not yet available for purchase. From February 2022, small volumes grown in New Zealand will be available for sale in selected retailers in China and Vietnam, and as samples for interested growers.

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