❧Applesauce

Jennifer Yeon Hee Kim (2013840398)Dianna Lee (2013840145)

Margarita Payton (2013840324)Kavin Ho (2013840098)

❧• Owned by Knouse Foods

• Produces canned fruit and vegetables

• One of the leading applesauce brands in America

• Motto: "Quality You Can Taste" (2)

• 7 operating plants• 5 in South Central Pennsylvania, Michigan, West Virginia

Background

❧• Pureed Apples

• Mixed with sugar & spices (cinnamon & allspice)• Used by many European countries.

• Can be used to cook/bake• Can be eaten as a side • Can be eaten as a dessert

• Known as comfort food (1)

• Enjoyed by people of all ages (1)

• Works as a healthy substitute for oil (1)

What is Applesauce?

❧• Dumped into tank for mixing and goes across conveyer to remove as many leaves as possible before entering the process

Process• Transferred from grater

into washing area and inspection area

❧Process cont.

• Apples after the inspection area

• Blend

• Brush washero rotates the appleso chlorinated water

❧Process cont.

• Apples are rotated• Cleans all surfaces of

apple• Water is sprayed

• Look for apples with...o decayo leaveso marks

• Thrown out or juiced

❧Process cont.

• Wheelo continuously turns

the appleso gets rid of inner

cavity

• Peel apples (95% gone)

• Remnants of peel

❧Process cont.

• Transferred into chopper

• Whole apple --> choppedo uniformity o get steam into apple

❧Process cont.

• Go up conveyer• Live steam injection

cooker• High pressure steam line

that allows steam to go into center of cooker

• stainless steel conveyer that agitates and mixes the apple

• held for 2-3 min. max• makes it soft• prepares it for finishing

❧Process cont.

• Finishero Finishing processo rotating paddle insideo all stainless steelo applesauce is screened

through separation device and waste is removed

❧Process cont.

• Can filler• Blending kettle

o maintains uniformityo #10 fillero government service

and food service industry

❧Process cont.

• Coded canso to designate product

to know what or when a particular can was produced

• Cans go through a twist

• Hot applesauce sterilizes the lid

• 1-2 minutes

❧Process cont.

• Conveyer provides sterilization time

• Allows product to be elevated and cooled

• Continuously stack four ounce cups for cinnamon sauce

• full time job

❧Process cont.

• Cup filler• Transferred to be

closed with aluminum lid

• Timed• Sequenced

❧• Applesauce is hypothesized by many to be:o mature stage of product lifecycleo low growth potentialo boring commodity, used as side dish or accompaniment

• Little to no marketing efforts by producers and retailers

• Applesauce is a basic item, low product differentiation and low technologyo Extremely high competition due to low barriers to entryo Applesauce is mainly sold on the basis of price

Applesauce Industry

❧• Marketing Challenge

• Quality vs. Efficiency Challenge

• Packaging Sustainability Challenge

Challenges Outline

❧• Unable to compete on price

• Easily substituted product, and have many substitutes (How to differentiate themselves?)

• Producers and retailers have little incentive to invest in marketing

• Need to increase sales, customer brand loyalty & perceived value of using the product

Marketing challenge

❧• Bundling

o entice customers to buy more --> increased sales

• Educate customers on uses of Applesauceo increases perceived value of usageo increases product & brand loyalty

• New product developmento more variety = better customer service --> increased

potential sales

Possible Improvements

❧What They Do

• Improve sales via bundling

• Educate customers on uses of Applesauceo Recipes provided on

website

• New product developmento e.g. chunky, natural,

cinnamono packaging (i.e. single serve)

❧• Maintaining product quality while increasing resource

efficiency

• Maintaining quality = increased costs

• Reliant on Apples• 2012 : warm winter and cold spring caused a decrease in

apple crops (5)• No resources can be wasted

Quality vs. Efficiency Challenges

❧• Quality check-points & other use of disposed parts of

apple

• Check-points : second round of de-leafing/finding damaged apples• Labor costs• Production time

• Apple scraps used in other productions• Peel, core, leftovers sent to juice pressing• Pressing leftovers used as cattle feed• Waste reduced by 80-90% (6)

Current Method

❧• Little room for improvement - already a mature

system

• Further improvements = new technology? o Invest in future technology to cut out check-pointso Invest in technology for preserving apples

Commendable

❧ Packaging factors - retortable, peelable packaging - convenience of use - prolonged shelf life of the product - container lightweight - heat resistance - biodegradable materials - sustainable package coating

Packaging Sustainability

❧- Shift from glass and rigid plastic containers towards

more sustainable packaging. - Currently used packaging:

• convenient single-serving plastic cups• family size plastic jars

However, Musselman's have not yet adopted an innovative packaging: spouted pouches

Complying with Sustainability Practices

❧Adoption of the spouted pouches and innovative packaging materials - polyglycolic acid (PGA)Advantages of innovative packaging• oversized resealable cap provides convenience• all polypropylene pouch is 100% recyclable

Improvement Suggestion

❧1. "Applesauce." Applesauce. U.S. Applesauce Industry, n.d. Web. 31

May 2013.2. "Through the Years." Musselman's. Knouse Foods, n.d. Web. 31 May

2013.3."Sustainability Efforts." Musselman's. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 June 2013.4.“Packaging Materials Innovation.” Food Engineering Magazine. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 03 June 2013.5. "Central New York." The Post-Standard. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 June 2013.6. "Knouse Foods Takes Steps Toward A Brighter Tomorrow." Press

Release Distribution, EDGAR Filing, XBRL, Regulatory Filings. BusinessWire, 22 Feb. 2011. Web. 01 June 2013.

References

❧The End