Michigan Apples

What Michigan Apples does

Michigan Apples, legally the Michigan Apple Committee, is a grower-funded nonprofit organization headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, established as the collective marketing arm for Michigan's apple industry. It represents 850 family-run farms that collectively cultivate 17.6 million apple trees across 38,000 acres, positioning Michigan as the nation's second-largest apple-producing state with a 2024 farm gate value of $322.4 million — more than double any other Michigan fruit crop. Its products and services comprise consumer marketing and promotion, a Healthy Living nutrition program featuring registered dietitians, a recipe collection, an annual research funding program, a farm market and u-pick locator, and educational materials for children and families. The organization holds no proprietary technology platform.

The revenue model relies on grower assessments collected from Michigan's 850 family apple farms (categorized in source data as a licensing/royalties-style stream), rather than direct product sales — Michigan Apple Committee does not itself sell apples. Go-to-market operates through three concurrent motions: a sales-led channel where fresh apple sales organizations handle retail partner marketing support while MAC focuses on consumer-facing demand generation; event-driven demand creation via long-running sponsorships and contests; and community-led content marketing via the dietitian-authored Healthy Living Blog. Customer-facing segments include retail consumers (household apple purchasers), retailers (grocery chains), food service operators, restaurants, exporters, and the 850 funding growers themselves.

Name

Michigan Apples

Legal name

Michigan Apple Committee

Website

https://michiganapples.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Michigan Apples is the Michigan Apple Committee, a grower-funded nonprofit in Lansing representing 850 family apple farms through consumer marketing, nutrition education, research funding, and brand promotion for retail, food service, and export markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Marketing and Promotion Services

NAICS

Apple Orchards (111331)

SIC

Agricultural Production-Crops (100)

akta.pro primary industry

Pome Fruit Orchards (Apples, Pears, Quinces) (AFAGACAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cider & Orchard Fruit Production (Apples/pears for cider & processing) (AFAGACAJ)

Keywords

• Apple marketing services
• Grower-funded promotion
• Agricultural commodity marketing
• Fresh produce education
• Apples retail support

Headquarters

HQ city

Lansing

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grower Assessments: Michigan Apple Committee is funded through grower assessments collected from Michigan's 850 family apple farms. This funds marketing, education, and research activities.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

Michigan Apples, through the Michigan Apple Committee, is a grower-funded nonprofit marketing organization that promotes Michigan-grown apples on behalf of 850 family-run farms. Its core offering is industry-wide marketing, education, and research services, including consumer advertising, retail point-of-purchase materials, dietitian-led nutrition education, recipe content, and an annual research funding program. The organization does not sell apples directly; instead it drives demand for the commodity through branding, content, and trade support.

Product overview

Michigan Apples is a grower-funded nonprofit organization dedicated to marketing, education, and research activities for the Michigan Apple industry. The organization promotes Michigan apple varieties (including Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji, McIntosh, Empire, Rome, Ida Red, Jonathan, Jonagold, EverCrisp, and others) through consumer marketing programs, retail support, a healthy living initiative featuring registered dietitian content, an extensive recipe collection, research funding initiatives, and educational resources for families and children. The core offering centers on marketing services for 850 family-run farms producing apples across Michigan's growing regions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Michigan Apple Marketing & Promotion Program Industry-wide marketing and promotion service offered through the Michigan Apple Committee on behalf of Michigan's 850 family apple farms. Includes consumer-facing advertising, social media, retail point-of-purchase support, dietitian outreach, and event sponsorships. The Committee shifted direct retail marketing to fresh apple sales organizations starting with the 2023 crop year and now focuses on consumer-facing education.
• Michigan Apple Research Funding Program Annual research funding program that supports 12 apple production, tree health, and apple quality projects selected by a subcommittee aligned with the Michigan Apple Committee's research priorities. Funding is awarded to research projects that benefit the broader Michigan apple industry.
• Find Michigan Apples Locator Consumer-facing online locator tool that helps shoppers find Michigan farm markets, cider mills, and u-pick orchards to purchase Michigan Apples. Also helps consumers identify Michigan-grown apples at grocery stores through the official Michigan Apple logo program.
• Healthy Living Program Nutrition education program led by registered dietitians including Shari Steinbach, featuring the Healthy Living Blog, dietitian-led videos, recipes, and a healthy living menu plan. Positions apples as a nutritious, locally-grown produce choice.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.28 billion pounds of Michigan Apples harvested in 2024
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Bank of America Chicago MarathoncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Michigan Apple Committee has been a sponsor of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon for 10 consecutive years since 2016. The partnership provides brand visibility at one of the largest marathons in the world, aligning with Michigan Apples' health and athletic performance messaging.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Stemilt Growers: Vertically integrated Washington-state grower, packer, marketer, and shipper. Operates a branded apple program (e.g., Rave®, Skylar Rae®) at much larger scale than MAC's collective marketing — analogous role of brand-builder for its grower base.
• USApple Association: National trade association representing the entire US apple industry. Broader than MAC in scope (lobbying, industry data, national policy) but overlapping in industry research, education, and category promotion functions.
• CMI Orchards: Major Washington-state apple grower, packer, and marketer with branded programs (Kiku, Envy, Ambrosia). Comparable to MAC as a coordinated marketing effort for multiple grower varieties, though for-profit and vertically integrated.
• Rainier Fruit Company: Large Washington-state apple packer/marketer with proprietary branded varieties (HoneyCrunch, Lady Alice). Functions as both supplier and brand-marketer for its growers — comparable marketing function to MAC, but vertically integrated and for-profit.
• Superfresh Growers: Washington/Oregon-based apple and pear grower-shipper with branded marketing for its grower base. Comparable collective-marketing function to MAC but operates as a private for-profit shipper.

Direct peers

• New York Apple Association: State-level grower-funded apple promotion body for New York. Operates with the same nonprofit, marketing/education/research mandate as Michigan Apple Committee but for a smaller-producing state.
• Pennsylvania Apple Marketing Program: Regional state apple marketing organization with the same grower-funded, marketing-and-promotion model as Michigan Apple Committee. Comparable as a peer state marketing board for Mid-Atlantic/Eastern apple production.
• Washington Apple Commission: State-level apple marketing and promotion body for Washington, the #1 US apple producer. Direct structural parallel to Michigan Apple Committee — grower-funded, focused on marketing/education/research for a major apple-producing state's apple industry.

Regional players

• Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association: Regional apple industry association for Vermont growers. Comparable grower-funded, marketing/promotion mandate for a smaller-producing New England state. Similar nonprofit structure to Michigan Apple Committee but at smaller scale.

Emerging players

• Crunch Pak: Sliced and pre-packaged fresh apple products company, including kid-focused programs. Adjacent category that intersects with MAC's nutrition education mission and benefits from apple category demand generation that MAC drives.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Michigan_Apples
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MichiganApples
• Facebookfacebook.com/MichiganApples
• Instagraminstagram.com/michiganapples
• Pinterestpinterest.com/MichiganApples
• TikToktiktok.com/@michiganapples
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/michigan-apple-committee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Michigan Apples