Apple & Eve

Apple & Eve Logo^[1]

Apple & Eve L.L.C. is a privately held New York-based company specializing in 100 percent juice and organic juice products.^[2] The company was founded by Gordon Crane in 1975 upon Crane’s graduation from the University of Rhode Island in 1972.^[2] Apple & Eve was listed in Beverage Industry’s Top 100 List of Beverages four times.^[3][4][5][6] In 2008, Inc. Magazine listed Apple & Eve #91 in the “Food & Beverage” category in the Inc. 5000,^[7] a list of the 5,000 fastest growing companies in the United States. Prevention Magazine named Apple & Eve Fruitables Tropical Orange one of the Healthiest Packaged Foods in 2011.^[8]

Company history

In 1975, Gordon Crane founded Apple & Eve,^[2] and in 1978, the company introduced its first cranberry product.^[2] Apple & Eve became the first company to package 100 percent Juice products^[9] in “Brik Pak” aseptic juice boxes in 1982.^[2] In 1999, the licensed Sesame Street juice was introduced to the line.^[2] Four years later, the Organic Juice line launched.^[10] In 2000, Apple & Eve juices became available in 64 oz. PET bottles. In 2005, Apple & Eve, LLC. acquired the Northland Juices brand making Apple & Eve one of the largest Cranberry Juice Brands in the country.^[11][12] In 2007, Apple & Eve received an investment from ClearLight Partners, a California-based private equity firm.^[2] In 2009, the company introduced Fruitables,^[13] a line of fruit and vegetable juice blended beverages.^[2] The Fruitables Berry Berry flavor was chosen as The Chicago Tribune Kid Favorite.^[14] Most recently, Apple & Eve launched Fruitables family-size 64 oz. bottles.^[15] In July 2014, Lassonde Industries acquired Apple & Eve.

Products

The company sells natural, 100 percent apple juice as well as a line of natural cranberry juice and a line of cranberry juice blended with other juices. Apple & Eve also produces juice boxes for children, On-the-Go single serving products for older children and adults, a line of Sesame Street-licensed juice boxes^[10] and 64 oz. bottles.^[2] Apple & Eve produces Northland-branded cranberry juice blends, as well as Fruitables and Seneca branded juices.

Nutritional information

The majority of Apple & Eve products are 100 percent juice.^[16] Fruitables provides one-third less sugar than other juices in the market; it is blended with purified water and contains one combined serving of fruits and vegetables per box.^[12][16][17] It provides 100 percent of the daily recommendation for Vitamin C as well as 10 percent for Vitamins A and Vitamin E.^[12] Apple & Eve products have no added sugars or artificial flavoring.^[12] Most of Apple & Eve Juices are kosher^[12] and all are gluten-free.^[16] Apple & Eve Organics and Sesame Street Organics are USDA-certified organic and carry the Quality Assurance International seal that verifies that Apple & Eve has been produced according to the strictest USDA standards.^[10]

Health benefits

100% juice products contain the naturally occurring phytonutrients found in fruits and vegetables that have disease preventative and disease fighting properties.^[18] 100% juice drinkers are leaner, have better insulin sensitivity and have lower risk for obesity and metabolic syndrome.^[18] MyPlate, the current nutrition guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture recommends one serving of fruit per day for children and two servings per day for adults.^[19] According to the Juice Products Association, one four-ounce glass of juice equals a full serving of fruit.^[18]

Additional information

Newport Folk Festival

During the year of Apple & Eve’s 30th anniversary, they became title sponsors of the Newport Folk Festival, a music celebration made famous by Bob Dylan, James Taylor and Peter, Paul & Mary.^[20] Apple & Eve’s passion for stressing natural product and environmental consciousness made the juice brand a natural fit for the event. “What attracted us to this partnership is the fact that the nature of the festival itself parallels the culture and philosophy behind Apple & Eve,” said CEO Gordon Crane. “(It) gives us a chance to give something back to the community that reflects what we’re all about.”^[20] Apple & Eve sponsored the festival from 2002-2004, while also sponsoring the USTA Apple & Eve and Newsday Long Island Tennis Classic in 2002-2003.^[21]

Sesame Street flavors

Apple & Eve first introduced its Sesame Street line of 100 percent fruit juices in 1999, becoming the first company to be awarded the Sesame Street license for beverages.^[10] As a result of the partnership with Sesame Workshop, according to The New York Times, “Apple & Eve has become the beverage of choice among the preschool set.”^[2] The line includes flavors such as: Big Bird’s Apple, Elmo’s Punch, Bert and Ernie’s Berry and Cookie Monster’s Orange Tangerine. Each has a character face affixed to their respective label. The Sesame Street Juices accounted for more than 14 percent of Apple & Eve’s sales in 2002.^[22]

Sesame Street eBooks

Starting in January 2011 and ending in June 2011, Apple & Eve began a new cross promotion with the Sesame Street brand.^[23] Specially marked Apple & Eve Sesame Street products contained a trial code, redeemable online for access to the Sesame Street eBooks bookshelf.^[23] Sesame Street eBooks, digital versions of a printed book featuring the Sesame Street characters, were available through the Sesame Street eBooks bookshelf, an individual online bookstore available to view on the web and accessible on digital mobile devices.^[24] The trial code allowed access to 10 Sesame Street titles of the 125 available online; they offered pictures, audio narrations and interactivity animations to entertain children as they learn to read.^[23]

Fruitables music mash-up

Apple & Eve Fruitables Seeding the Arts Music Mash-up School Music Program partnered with the VH1 Save the Music Program.^[25] The Seeding the Arts initiative supports music and arts education in schools across America.^[26] “Like Fruitables, a ‘mash-up’ of fruit and vegetable juice, a music ‘mash-up’ is the combination of two or more songs.”^[27][28] To try to win the contest, school music programs entered a musical mash-up^[29] and a 100-word essay describing the school’s need for music funding.^[25] The best entry was chosen by a panel of judges, including the late Fruitables Mash-up spokesperson Cory Monteith^[30] of Fox television show Glee fame, who was committed to supporting arts education in schools.^[27][31] Eligible entrants were school choruses from kindergarten through eighth grade.^[29] Traverse City West Middle School in Michigan won the Best School Music Mash-up in America, taking home the grand prize of $10,000[30] toward their music program. Charlestown’s Warren Prescott Elementary won “Fruitables Best Elementary School Music Mash-Up in America” in 2011 for their performances of “Goodbye to You” by Scandal and “You Can't Hurry Love” by Diana Ross and The Supremes.^[32] In 2010, Fruitables committed to support the foundation with a $25,000 donation, and a pledge of an additional dollar for each new Apple & Eve Facebook fan collected up to $5,000. In 2011, the company renewed their campaign initiative, pledging up to $50,000 for both liking the Facebook page^[33] as well as coupon redemption from Fruitables 8-pack 6.75 oz. juice boxes.^[26]

References

External links

• Official website
• Beverage World article 8/15/10