Over one million people have engaged with Autumn Glory® Apple content on social media one month into the season. This goes hand-in-hand with the growth of the Autumn Glory apple, which is available this year in thousands of retail locations. Online engagements include likes, comments, and shares on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. To kick off the 2017 season, Superfresh Growers® sponsored several celebratory events, including an Autumn Glory Harvest Immersion, the Autumn Glory Apple Pie Workshop hosted by Feedfeed, and Autumn Glory apple brunch parties in Atlanta and Boston.
Autumn Glory Apple hosted eight influencers on tours of their Yakima Valley orchards and warehouse on the last few days of harvest. The event was the first to kick off the social media awareness campaign. “We wanted to host an event that immersed the blogosphere into our everyday experience,” said Catherine Gipe-Stewart, Communications Manager. “Influencers had the chance to take sunrise photos, harvest Autumn Glory apples, and experience an Autumn Glory apple-themed dinner.” These eight influencers came from across the United States. They included Café Johnsonia, Everyday Maven, Foolproof Living, Fox & Briar, Millennielle, Nosh and Nourish, PDX Food Love, and Piloncillo y Vainilla.
In November and December, Autumn Glory Apple is teaming up with Feedfeed on a partnership that includes a giveaway, recipe creation, and Autumn Glory Apple Pie Workshop. The Feedfeed is the largest global crowdsourced digital cooking publication and community that boasts over 2 million Instagram followers throughout their feeds. The feedfeed includes a high engagement rate, and posts featuring Autumn Glory apple content have received over 5 million impressions.
At the Autumn Glory Apple Pie Workshop, Erin Clarkson of Cloudy Kitchen led 15 influencers on how to make a herringbone lattice apple slab pie. The event was hosted in the new feedfeed Brooklyn studio, where each influencer created their mini-pie. The event was designed to encourage engagement on Instagram and Instagram Stories and included a photo studio for professional photos to be taken throughout the event. Attendees mingled and created while eating Autumn Glory apple cheeseboards, Squash and Apple Soup, and the signature cocktail of the evening, Autumn Glory Apple Margaritas, created by Jessica Fiorillo of Feed Me Dearly. Over 15 influencers attended the evening workshop, totaling an Instagram audience of over two million followers.
“Engaging with the social media community is vital to building consumer awareness and engagement with Autumn Glory,” describes Gipe-Stewart. “Influencers have been overjoyed to partner with us to promote an apple that they believe is crisp, juicy, and full of cinnamon and caramel notes.” When talking with Luisa Hammet, MS RD LD, of Peaches to Pearls, she commented how proud she was to host the second annual Atlanta Autumn Glory Brunch Party. She wrote, “Autumn Glory apples taste like nature’s caramel candy! I’m not even kidding, my friends- these are hands down the best apples I have ever tried. I like cutting mine up and dipping them in almond butter for a healthy snack. They also add great flavor to any dish- especially fall dishes!”The second annual Atlanta Autumn Glory Harvest Brunch was hosted by Hammet and attended by Atlanta Girl Gang, Darling Down South, Shelby Rae Photographs, and Elizabeth Spencer Davis Blog. The event was potluck style, with dishes highlighting the caramel notes of Autumn Glory apples, including Apple Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce, Puff Pastry Turkey Sliders with Apple Chutney, and Farro Apple Salad.
Lauren Pariseau of Hunger|Thirst|Play hosted an Autumn Glory-themed potluck with a New England touch in Boston. She writes, “When you grow up with apple orchards in your backyard, you tend to get a little snobby about the crisp, sweet, tart produce. Well, I’m sorry to break the news. New England…the Pacific Northwest is here with Autumn Glory apples, and they’re getting a front and center spot on our fall-inspired table.” She continues, “Firm texture, skin that snaps, and a noisy-in-a-good-way bite is a solid start to winning over New England apple lovers. But the smell and the taste, oh man, you guys, pull up a chair, break out your scratch, and sniff screens.”
Pariseau knocked her potluck out of the park with an all-star group of Boston bloggers, including Sweet & Masala, Where the Blue Boots Go, Life as a Maven, Prim and Propah, and Stress Baking. Dishes range from “sweet to savory, and baked to braised,” including savory baked apples, apple cinnamon whiskey smash, apple hand pie, and lollipop lamb chops with autumn glory chutney.
The two branches lit up Instagram stories, reaching the social community throughout the United States. Superfresh Growers continues to have great success on social media and will continue various social media campaigns to increase brand awareness of Autumn Glory.
