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First Belgian Rockit apples hit supermarket shelves

01:24 11/02/2016

The first harvest of Rockit apples in Belgium is now available in supermarkets. About 50 tonnes of the specially bred miniature apple, originally from the east coast of New Zealand, were harvested this season from trees planted in Belgium in 2012. The fruit can now be found for the first time in various Belgian supermarkets, backed by strong marketing and nifty packaging.

According to Petra Wautraets of the Limburg fruit auction, the apple is not a competitor of other apples, but of sugary snacks. “Rockit is the answer to the quest for a healthy snack. And the small size means you can easily take it everywhere.”

As for the packaging, Wautraets calls the special tubes containing three or five apples “a hip and fun concept, especially for young people.”

Due to the small size of the first harvest, demand for the apples is high. The producers expect to produce 500 to 600 tonnes within two years, all destined for the Belgian market. “We'll wait to see how other countries react before we adjust production accordingly and enter new markets,” says Wautraets.

Written by Robyn Boyle