With its pores and skin a deep shade of purple and putting crisp white flesh, the Bravo apple seems to be and tastes like no different on the Australian grocery store shelf.

Throughout the nation, the Bravo harvest is underway. 

The apple is picked when it reaches optimum steadiness between acidity and sweetness, a maturing course of carefully monitored by growers corresponding to Ann Lyster, a Manjimup apple farmer and chair of West Australian apple cooperative Fruit West.

“This isn’t simply one other piece of fruit, that is particular, that is super-premium,” she mentioned. 

“Some folks say this would be the Louis Vuitton of the apple trade.” 

Whereas Ms Lyster laughs on the comparability, her pleasure across the potential of the Bravo apple to reinvigorate her trade is real. 

It is also wanted.

Rethink contemporary produce worth

On common Australians eat 10 kilograms of apples yearly, however consumption just isn’t growing. 

At about $8 a kilogram, Bravos in Australia retail at the next value than different apples.

However Jenny Mercer from contemporary produce wholesaler WA Farm Direct mentioned demand and market share of the Bravo was rising. 

“It is a excessive value within the class, however it’s probably not a excessive value as a operate of day by day life …  we’re in an atmosphere the place we pay $5 for a espresso and $12 for a beer,” she mentioned. 

Apple grower Harvey Giblett mentioned shoppers wanted to reassess the worth positioned on contemporary produce. 

“As a society, we appear to have the opinion that fruit and veggies needs to be low cost,” he mentioned. 

Bravo apples had been planted in industrial portions in Manjimup eight years in the past, and have been offered in Australian supermarkets for a number of seasons. 

The distinctive colored apple is the results of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} of funding and 20 years of trial work, accomplished by trade and employees at Australia’s solely apple breeding facility, housed in Manjimup and run by the Division of Main Industries and Regional Growth. 

The trade hopes to supply 50,000 tonnes of Bravo apples yearly by 2035, however this 12 months solely about 3,500 tonnes of Bravo will likely be harvested in Australia, and about 10 per cent of the crop will likely be exported to markets within the Center East and Asia. 

But it surely’s the potential of Bravo to increase internationally that has growers excited. 

“My best want is that Western Australia after which Australia has a sustainable apple export trade, that clearly has a extremely good place within the home market additionally,” Ms Lyster mentioned. 

Export market essential to success

The WA authorities holds the mental property rights of the Bravo apple, which is exported internationally underneath the model Soluna. 

Wholesaler WA Farm Direct is the licensed marketer of Bravo in Australia and into export markets. 

CEO Jenny Mercer mentioned the trade was aiming to have about 70 per cent of Australian-grown Bravos exported. 

“It’s totally candy, but in addition has a good bit of acid in it, so it provides a extremely well-balanced flavour, and what we discover in a number of Asian and Center Japanese nations, they’re actually on the lookout for that sweetness, which it has,” she says. 

“So then it is about growing consciousness and creating the model and introducing it so far as you probably can.”  

In a bid to retain its worth, Bravo will likely be distributed by way of a coordinated advertising program.

Worldwide progress beckons

Final 12 months the WA authorities appointed TopStar, a French South African enterprise, to handle worldwide commercialisation of Bravo, offered abroad as Soluna. 

Bushes are already rising abroad in trials, they’re anticipated to be planted in industrial portions inside the subsequent two years. 

Ms Mercer mentioned negotiations had been progressing nicely with TopStar, however on the forefront of her thoughts, and the trade’s, was retaining Australian apples’ worth and export presence when lower-cost worldwide producers come on stream with their fruit. 

“No person needs to do all this work after which in 10 years’ time, all this manufacturing comes on and that is it, you have misplaced your market as a result of we’re we’ve got the next value of manufacturing right here,” Ms Mercer mentioned. 

“In order that’s a part of the negotiation is to protect a 10-year [market access] exclusivity interval after which to proceed to work with TopStar to guarantee that we’ve got a system in place that lets us take the model to market internationally with out lowering the model fairness.” 

Pink woman classes

Harvey Giblett from Newton Orchards is in his 61st apple harvest. 

He can bear in mind the thrilling days of the Pink Girl apple, which was additionally developed on the Manjimup apple breeding facility. 

Within the late Nineties and early 2000s Pink Girl was exported from WA to markets within the UK, demand outstripped provide, returns to growers had been good and the Australian apple trade prospered. 

However when worldwide producers of Pink Girl entered the market, Australia was priced out.