How one Sebastopol plant keeps the Sonoma County apple crop viable

Sonoma County’s beloved apple industry still manages to survive, just at a much smaller scale compared to 60 years ago during its heyday when the area was known for its Gravensteins apples rather than pinot noir grapes.

That was clear on Tuesday when the county’s just-released annual crop report showed last year’s apple crop dropped in cash value almost 24% to $2.69 million as a result of the drought and bad weather during the bloom season.

That figure represents a small slice of the overall $811 million in value for agricultural crops and livestock in 2021 within Sonoma County. It’s a vital industry in which wine grapes represented two thirds of the overall value and milk another 15%.

Local growers have adapted in recent years by selling at farmers markets and local shops, as well as to producers of hard cider, where they can get better prices.

But there also is another valuable resource for them at the Manzana Products Co. plant in rural Sebastopol, which uses organic apples to make juice, cider vinegar and applesauce at the facility founded 100 years ago.

How important is the facility to local growers?

Eric Marshall whose family has farmed apples locally since the 1940s put it bluntly: “If Manzana wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be doing it.”

Manzana was bought a decade ago by Agrial, a French-based food company with global operations, and it is committed to a long-term investment with the plant, which employs 130 full-time workers, said Andy Kay. He’s a British native who serves as CEO . It adds up to another 50 employees during the peak harvest time.

“I think we've invested a lot to grow the capacity since Agrial came here 10 years ago,” Kay said. “Now is the time to do the renewal and make this a viable operation for the next 100 years. That's the kind of the process we're going through right now.”

That support is critical because Manzana is a key food processor that keeps local agriculture viable, said Dayna Ghirardelli, executive director of the Sonoma County Farm Bureau.

“They play a huge role. With every processor that goes out of business or leaves the area, it creates a major strain on production and the end product,” Ghirardelli said.

While local grape growers have an array of nearby wineries to crush their fruit, others are not so lucky. Dairy farmers still have a few key local plants that process milk. That list includes Clover Sonoma and Straus Family Creamery in Petaluma to make it more affordable, especially in transportation costs, as dairy farmers have struggled amid the drought and inflation for their supplies.

Some local ranchers were blindsided when Marin Sun Farms in 2020 stopped accepting animals at its slaughterhouse for ranchers that had their own private labels. They were forced to band together and form their own cooperative to purchase a $1.2 million mobile processing plant that they put into use earlier this year.

“Every time a processor leaves the area, it just makes it that much harder,” Ghirardelli said.

Manzana has adjusted with changes as a result of the pandemic where it saw increased demand while also trying to keep its employees safe, Kay said. Some of the workers have had decades at the plant, which is one of the largest private employers in west county.

“They are extremely dedicated,” he said.

The organic apple product category experienced around 5% annual growth before COVID, but that jumped to 20% at the onset of the pandemic as consumers were looking for more healthy products, Kay said.

For example, the apple cider vinegar market went up about 40% very quickly, he added. Customers use apple cider vinegar in various ways, such as diluted in water or as part of a salad dressing. Others use it for cleaning and even washing their hair.

“Apple cider vinegar in the prior three years was declining,” said Alissa Trinei, marketing specialist for Manzana. “Once COVID hit, it just immediately skyrocketed.”

The increased demand came as sourcing for apples has become more difficult.

The plant processes approximately 50,000 tons of organic apples annually with about 80% trucked in from Washington State and most of the rest coming from Sonoma County growers. The Washington State yield is down 11% for the current harvest year that followed a 20% decrease from the previous year, Kay said.

“We are basically in a pretty tough situation. It’s mainly climate related,” he said of the Washington State crop.

Washington State is the dominant force in the market because it produces more than half of the nation’s apple crop, and California is much farther behind in fifth place, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Agrial bought the Seattle Cider Co. in 2016 to add a hard cider component to its U.S. operations. “The U.S. is a clinically key strategic market for them,” Kay said of the French-based parent company.

Sonoma County had 2,145 acres of apple orchards in operation last year, according to the crop report, which is considerably down from its apex in 1940 with almost 14,000 acres.

There is some optimism for this year’s local crop.

Stan Devoto, a longtime Sonoma County grower, said the overall tonnage will be higher for his apple crop this year even with the September heat spike that was followed by strong winds and showers, which knocked a lot of fruit from the trees.

Devoto is unique because he sells his fruit to various grocery stores and not to Manzana because he is trying to get a better return on investment.

For its part, Manzana is being proactive and innovative by starting its own apple orchard in Wilcox, Arizona, about an hour drive east of Tucson. It produces just a small amount of the company’s needs right now but is poised for growth.

“It’s about diversifying the risk as much as possible,” Kay said of the Arizona orchard.

The company also has diversified at the retail level as it has been primarily known for producing products for retailers under their own private labels. Manzana started its own North Coast brand around eight years ago, which now represents about 20% of its production, Kay said.

The brand recently introduced a juice product made from SugarBee apples that are known for its mild and sweet flavor.

“Agrial has that kind of strategic vision to have strong brands working alongside those strong private label customers,” Kay said.

The company will continue to invest in the plant, which borders the popular west county trail, with more automated production lines to fill its applesauce pouches.

The goal is to have Manzana continue to be recognized as the nation’s premier apple product supplier, as Kay noted the company does not use concentrate for its products, which instead are freshly pressed.

“In these times, it would be easy to compromise … but what happens in the long term?” he said. “We have taken 100 years to build that reputation, so we just don’t want to break it overnight.”