The varieties under the ADORE™ brand will make it possible to adapt production to different regions, harvest calendars and market needs

The new varieties have been developed to maintain fruit quality in a context of rising temperatures

VentureFruit, the strategic partner for the commercialisation of the Hot Climate Partnership varieties, today unveiled ADORE™, a new global brand of premium apples that brings together a family of climate-resilient varieties. By bringing them together under a single brand, the varieties offer growers and marketers greater flexibility to ensure supply across different regions and harvest periods, while meeting the needs of each market.

Launched at Fruit Attraction in Madrid, ADORE™ is the latest commercial development of the Hot Climate Partnership, an international breeding programme dedicated to developing high-quality apples and pears capable of adapting to warm climates and rising temperatures. ADORE™ will initially be launched with the variety ‘HOT03A1’, together with a second, complementary variety that is harvested between four and six weeks earlier. In addition, new varieties are under development with the aim of expanding production and supply possibilities.

Under the global ADORE™ brand, the companies and organisations taking part in the programme can choose the variety, or combination of varieties, that best suits their region and market. Partners in each territory retain the autonomy to produce, pack, market, distribute and sell the fruit within the region for which they hold a licence, while benefiting from continued investment in the brand, the programme’s specialist knowledge and the reach of a global network of collaboration between partners.

Morgan Rogers, managing director of VentureFruit, says that ADORE™ apples respond to growing demand for premium apples around the world and, at the same time, to the need to adapt production to climate change.

The global premium apple segment is growing rapidly, which creates a real opportunity for growers and investors. At the same time, global temperatures continue to rise. Growers need varieties that maintain good commercial performance as the climate, growing conditions and markets change. ADORE™ combines varieties that are resilient to rising temperatures, a quality proposition for consumers and a global commercial strategy designed to consolidate its growth.

“Grouping several complementary varieties within a single programme allows partners to choose those that best suit each region and market, and to concentrate their efforts under one global brand. This flexibility can help improve orchard performance and give growers greater certainty when planning long-term investments”, explains Rogers.

ADORE™ is the result of more than two decades of plant breeding and scientific development within the Hot Climate Partnership, which brings together the Institute of Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA), New Zealand’s Bioeconomy Science Institute (BSI), FruitFutur and VentureFruit. Together, the partners provide the scientific, productive and commercial know-how needed to take new apple and pear varieties from breeding through to market.

“The launch of ADORE™ is an important milestone for the Hot Climate Partnership and a good example of what patient, sustained, long-term breeding research can achieve. Our scientific team is proud to have helped develop apples that are resilient to rising temperatures and that consumers also like. We hope that VentureFruit will now help bring them to growers and consumers around the world”, says Emma Brown, General Manager of Plant Variety Commercialisation at the Bioeconomy Science Institute.

The first ADORE™ varieties have undergone extensive agronomic evaluation and three years of sensory studies with consumers in Spain, Germany, France, Italy and Hong Kong. The results showed a high level of overall acceptance compared with industry standards, and a consistent brand experience in terms of appearance, flavour and texture.

Deep, glossy red in colour, these apples offer a balanced eating experience: they are sweet, fruity and fresh, but not overly acidic, with a juicy, crunchy texture.

“Two years of testing the positioning, name and visual identity in different markets have received an extraordinarily positive response. This gives us and our partners the confidence that we are investing in a differentiated apple brand that consumers will look for and want to buy again”, says Rogers.

ADORE™ reaches the market with strong momentum: in Catalonia, 120 hectares of ADORE™ are already licensed through FruitFutur. The programme has attracted considerable early interest among other European partners, as well as in South America and South Africa.

“As one of the first regions to drive the commercial development of these varieties, the Catalan fruit research and production ecosystem has played an important role in their development and in their transfer to the market”, says Eva Ogué, Head of IRTA’s Valorisation Office.

The Secretary for Food, Rosa Cubel, highlighted the importance of connecting research and innovation with the needs of the productive sector in a context shaped by climate change. “Climate change forces us to anticipate and to look for new ways of producing quality food and of ensuring the viability of the primary sector”, she said. In this regard, Cubel stressed Catalonia’s role as a benchmark territory for agrifood research and innovation, and pointed out that “collaboration between the Administration, research centres and the productive sector is key to tackling future challenges and building a more resilient, competitive agrifood sector adapted to the new climate conditions”.

The varieties under the ADORE™ brand will be rolled out gradually, starting with the regions where they are best suited to both growing conditions and the market. Plantings will be planned to match production to demand, protect the varieties and the brand and provide agronomic support to partners in the main producing regions.

The varieties under the ADORE™ brand expand the Hot Climate Partnership’s current commercial portfolio, which already includes TUTTI™ and STELLAR™ apples.