Appleooz Supports Zero-Waste Groceries in Colorado
Re-launching a CPG brand during a pandemic requires some creative imagination.
Like selling your packaged food product in bulk without plastic packaging to zero waste grocery stores to help reduce pollution from discarded plastic bags.
Most packaged food brands are sold in retail stores and online. Boulder-based Appleooz (pronounced ap-pull-Looooz) sells most of its products through their online store, Amazon, and a few independent grocers like Lucky’s Market in Boulder.
All those products are professionally packaged in stand-up pouch bags that typically get discarded when empty with regular trash because they are not recyclable with standard recycling in most areas. Stand-up pouch bags can be recycled at resource centers, but consumers only selectively use those locations.
Their corporate mission includes making good use of food and resources so that they do not go to waste and reducing carbon footprint for producing their product.
To that end, Appleooz is now being sold at three zero waste grocery stores/delivery services in Boulder, Longmont and Denver and looking to expand regionally:
The stores purchase bulk supplies of the tasty, artisan crunchy apple chips in reusable airtight containers and sell them in reusable mason jars on a subscription basis. Nude Foods Market even delivers the products on bicycle.
Appleooz uses Colorado Fuji, Pink Lady, Cameo and Granny Smith apples to produce their award-winning products. One of the stores, Nude Foods Market in Boulder, even sells the fresh Colorado apples that Appleooz cannot use. These small, lunchbox size apples are too small to process for apple chips, but perfect for locals looking for fresh Colorado apples in the thick of winter.
Previously, the brand bought bulk supplies of apples from distributors in Denver or had them trucked in from Washington state and paid more in shipping than the product costs. In October, they were able to secure an order from the largest apple grower in Colorado and now use all Colorado apples to produce their products. This helps reduce the carbon footprint for producing Appleooz.
In the Fall, the company will work cooperatively with Community Fruit Rescue to help harvest local apples again.
