Formation
The Washington Apple industry had undergone difficult times during the 1920's and 1930's. The depression had hit Washington hard and mitigated the attempts of an advertising association of apple farmers that had some success prior to the ripples of Black Tuesday reaching the Pacific states.
All the while worm controls had required the use of a costly pesticide that could only be cleaned by using expensive washing methods. This method also sharply reduced the longevity of apples, making the marketing season shorter and shipping cross-country even more difficult.
Into this situation stepped a horticulturalist, Ralph Sundquist, who realized that the apple growers of Washington must work together to seize a share of the apple market. He and other businessmen created a pilot program, using assessments leveled upon participating farmers to pay for an advertising campaign. The program was a success and demands for a permanent organization were being heard from across the state.
Shortly thereafter the Washington Apple Commission was formed and the legislature passed laws requiring participation from all apple growers. The legislation, and the commission, was almost nixed by a powerful State Senator, but he relented once an amendment was added to the bill that only producers of fresh apples had to participate, and those who made apples for processed products, a la applesauce, were exempt.
Once the compromise was made all Apple Growers paid a 1 cent per 42 lbs box. This assessment fluctuated to being as high as 40 cents per box before returning to its present level of 3.5 cents per box.
Structure
The Washington Apple Commission was designed to represent all of the apple growers in the state. Its leadership consists of a 14 member Board of Directors. Nine of the board members are elected by the farmers themselves and an additional four are elected by the apple shippers and marketers of the state. Each of these commissioners serves a three year term. The final member, who has a largely ceremonial supervision of the board, is the state director of agriculture. Despite the presence of a state official, the Commission is under the control of the growers as they pay the assessment fees which fund the Commission’s activities. The Commission also has full time employees in a variety of departments. They have ranged in number from the current 14 employees to over 80.
The Brand
The Washington Apple Commission chose to use a two pronged branding strategy. The first aspect was to brand all apples grown in the State of Washington as Washington Apples. Individual growers were still permitted to put their own logos on their apple shipments but the Washington Apple logo, along with a rating system to represent quality, would still be there.
A second prong of the campaign was to associate Washington Apples with health. The fruit had long been assumed to be a part of a healthy lifestyle, but the Apple Commission wanted to be able to prove it scientifically. To accomplish this the Commission gave tens of thousands of dollars in grants to scientists and doctors to research the health benefits of apples. The research proved that apples were of great value health wise, and this became a staple of future advertising campaigns.
Individual growers were still permitted to put their own logos on their apple shipments but the Washington Apple logo, along with a rating system to represent quality, would still be there.
More research went into discovering whether the “hot baths” the apples were subjected to were actually necessary. Originally intended to remove agricultural residue thought to be harmful to the consumer, these baths also robbed the apples of some flavor and damaged their longevity. After several studies it was determined that the “hot baths” were unnecessary and other less damaging cleaning methods were substituted. This discovery led to tastier apples that still protected the health of the consumer.
Success
At the time of the Commission’s founding in 1937, Washington Apples only accounted for 15% of the total apples sold in the United States. By the turn of the century, Washington growers commanded 70% of the domestic market and was selling in 30 different countries. In 2002 the Washington Apple Commission began to exclusively market internationally. Washington now exports 1/3 of its apple crop to countries as varied as Mexico, China, India, and Indonesia.
A continuing legacy of the Commission's lobbying efforts is the shelf design of the produce section of most supermarkets. It remains difficult to walk into any American supermarket without immediately seeing a pile of apples.(Shown below)
