Leading sliced apple company Crunch Pak won the Innovation Award for Best New Fruit Product with its Apple Rings at the United Fresh Produce Association show on June 15 in Chicago. 

Crunch Pak was one of five companies to receive an Innovation Award. The winners were selected by show attendees from a total of 46 entries.

“This year’s Innovation Awards winners won from a field of excellent and qualified competitors,” said John Toner, United Fresh vice president of convention and industry relations.

“The exceptional creativity of these five winners helped them stand out.”

Crunch Pak’s Apple Rings are round circles of fresh apples with the cores removed and are available in a variety of flavor options: sweet, tart, and a mixture of both.

The company's director of brand marketing and product innovation Krista Jones said apple rings may change the way people consume apples, adding variety outside of just slices.

She told Fresh Fruit Portal apple rings were somewhat of a trend nowadays, often being mentioned by food bloggers and seen on social media sites like Pinterest.

"You can see a lot of recipes. A lot of people cut rings by hand and then build recipes of them," she said, adding the product could also be consumed as a snack.

The product had its debut last week at the industry event and is due to be launched nationwide in the fall when kids go back to school. It will be sold in retailers including Wal-Mart, Kroger and Target.

"We’re super excited, just because it’s such a new, innovative and exciting product, so we’re glad everyone else was excited about it as well," she said.

www.freshfruitportal.com