NEW YORK -- Red Apple Cos. here has gone organic and wants everyone in New York City to know about it.
The chain recently took out a full-page advertisement in the New York Times announcing that a branded line of organic produce is now available at its 73 stores under the Gristede's and Sloan's banners.
The line, which includes 20 to 30 items, was introduced in mid-March. The produce is being displayed prominently in center island displays in most locations and interspersed throughout the produce department in others.
About 125 store and department managers geared up for the introduction by attending an educational seminar sponsored by the supplier.
The seminar, which included an organic vegetarian dinner, focused on organic farming, its health and environmental benefits, land certification, and the best ways to merchandise the products, said Gerald Prolman, president of Made In Nature, San Rafael, Calif., the supplier of the program.
The top of the newspaper ad featured the supplier's logo with the words "Certified Organic" across the bottom. The bottom portion featured five boxes -- each containing a produce item, along with its price and a description of where it was grown.
For example, the box listing red and golden delicious apples read, "Harvested from the prime apple growing region of Wenatchee, Wash.," and "Picked at the right moment for optimum sweetness and crunch."
The other produce items were ruby grapefruit, watermelon, kabocha and Roma tomatoes.
The apples were priced at $2.99 for a 3-pound bag, the ruby grapefruit at $2.99 for a 5-pound bag, the watermelon at 79 cents per pound, the kabocha at 89 cents per pound and the Roma tomatoes at 99 cents per pound.
The bottom portion of the advertisement told readers that tasting the produce might make them think "new flavors had been created," because of the "tremendous care and skill" used to produce the products and the use of "natural, and non-polluting materials."
The products come from more than 200 growers working more than 8,000 acres of certified organic land, according to the supplier.
