NZ Food Award Winner

September 2024

Sassy™ Apples Named Finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards

Sassy™ Apples was announced as the winner of the Primary Sector Award at the New Zealand Food Awards — a major milestone for the young New Zealand apple brand.

The New Zealand Food Awards celebrate excellence, innovation and sustainability across the country’s food and beverage sector. With more than 300 entries submitted nationally, Sassy™ was selected as one of just four finalists in its category, which recognises minimally processed products that stay true to their origins.

Behind Sassy™ is more than 15 years of natural breeding by New Zealand’s crown research organisation, Plant & Food Research, followed by careful commercial development and brand building. The award submission traced the full journey of the variety — from early research and orchard trials through to naming, market positioning and global rollout.

Sassy™ is a completely new apple variety, developed in New Zealand and now grown by a small group of licensed growers around the world. Global licensing rights are held by Next Generation Apples, a collaboration between multi-generational growers Golden Bay Fruit and Taylor Corp.

Being named a finalist reflects not just strong eating quality, but the teamwork, science and long-term thinking behind bringing a new apple variety to market — from orchard to consumer.