“What it takes for Swing.bio to become the reference for organic apples”

The first shipment of Swing.bio apples took place a week ago, marking the start of the fourth season of these organic apples. This year, no less than 500 tonnes of Swing.bio is expected in the four production basins of the Loire Valley, the Alps, the Languedoc and the Southwest. Every year, the volume is increasing.

“Our orchards are two to five years old. 4th and 5th year plants have now reached a production speed that is very attractive. For now, in terms of yield, we are meeting the targets we set ourselves,” explains Baptiste Geoffrey, head of innovation and new projects at SICA Gerfruit.

4-year-old swing-bio garden

Crop quality looks promising
This year the yield looks promising in terms of quality. “We are early this year, with a color that finally turned out to be quite satisfactory. As for taste, Swing.bio’s full aroma with sugar levels are exceptional this year.”

Setting harvest dates with a producer in a Swing.bio garden

A two-tone apple that “stands out”
Baptiste Geoffrey believes in the potential of Swing.bio. According to him, apples have real assets to become a reference among organic apples. “We might have thought that consumers would be bored to see another two-tone apple on the shelves but Swing.bio is truly different. We are doing our best to ensure that this variety stands out and brings real added value to the shelves.

“Today, Swing.bio is the apple that carries all our standards in terms of taste as well as agro-ecology. Last year, the response we received was excellent, especially in the last weeks of the campaign. In terms of taste, this variety pleases many customers until the end of the season. Swing.bio keeps very well over time without losing its great taste quality.”

These are certainly advantages in a context where organic markets are being tested. “Today, we cannot harvest bad crops. The competition is such that we must be present on the shelves every year, or we will lose our place.”

2022 harvest

Swing.bio: A real catalyst for innovation within SICA Gerfruit
For SICA Gerfruit, Swing.bio is much more than an apple. As a true pilot project within the company, the two-tone organic apple was identified as an ideal candidate to fulfill the company’s agro-ecological ambitions. “We want our gardens to become biodiversity preserves and have an impact on their environment that is at least neutral and at best beneficial. To study this effect, we chose Swing.bio because it is a variety of natural resistance, which allows us to have the most resilient garden possible. There are many positive and negative myths about agro-ecology. However, to know the exact impact of our activities on the garden, we need to do a serious and thorough study with the help of entomologists. We chose to start with Swing.bio and we want to apply it to our other varieties later.”

Training on live soil with producers

An ambitious communication plan
To make Swing.bio a reference in organic apples, SICA Gerfruit has developed a solid communication plan. “We are proud of our slogan ‘I am for enhancing the taste of life’. We want as many people as possible to taste this apple and this year, we are pursuing a very ambitious plan to promote the variety. We want to help our clients work on consumer purchasing power and continue our animations to promote Swing.bio.

Ekölo and Ecole Du Sens: a very important partnership for SICA
“We also continue our work with Ekölo and Ecole du Sens, organizations that work with children and teenagers to create educational tools. The goal is to develop creativity, autonomy and cooperation for future generations.

Workshop with some kids from Ekölo: Swing producers come to animate the workshop on biodiversity and interactions between plants and insects (July 2022).

Next year, we will welcome children (from Ekölo) to a summer camp so they can discover the biodiversity of our garden.”

For more information:
Geoffrey the Baptist
Sika jarfruit
Phone: +33 6 42 76 89 20
www.swing.bio