Spar Launches Pilot to Reintroduce Rare Heirloom Apples

The Spar group has launched a pilot program to reintroduce rare and forgotten heirloom apple varieties to the commercial market. Partnering with produce distributor Frutura and the environmental NGO Arche Noah, the retail chain is focusing on the Ilzer Rosenapfel and Falchs Gulderling varieties to increase biodiversity and preserve ancient crops.

An experimental orchard in Styria currently hosts 2,150 trees. Following a harvest sample this week, the fruit will be delivered next month to a trial supermarket in Vienna, as well as regional daycare centers and schools. The project will evaluate the varieties based on growth performance, disease susceptibility, shelf life, and taste.

Markus Kaser, deputy chair of Spar Austria, noted that many consumers are renewing their interest in food origins and taste. Katrin Hohensinner-Häupl, co-managing director of Frutura, stated that farming never stands still as the project tests whether these historic crops can thrive under modern commercial cultivation conditions.