Coupang announced on the 29th that it has purchased about 200 tons of 'imperfect apples' produced in major apple-growing regions in Korea and introduced a new product called 'Apple Rescue.'
'Apple Rescue' was designed to add new value to imperfect apples, which have low commercial viability due to their appearance and are difficult to distribute.
Coupang bought a large quantity of imperfect apples from the Gyeongbuk region, including Yeongju, Andong, Bonghwa, and Yecheon. Gyeongbuk is a key production area, accounting for over 60% of the nation’s apple production.
Imperfect apples have low commercial viability due to surface blemishes or scars but are high-quality fruits with an average sugar content of 11 to 13 Brix and a crisp texture.
They often go unsold and are discarded or sold at low prices for juice production. Coupang has developed 'Apple Rescue', which consists of 2.5 kg of imperfect apples and 160 g of unsweetened natural peanut butter.
It will be sold through Rocket Fresh to Coupang WOW members nationwide and can be used as a convenient breakfast or healthy snack.
Coupang plans to further develop products that combine nut butters, such as hazelnut butter and almond butter, with apples.