Greg Hackenbracht Grows a Tastee Apple…
Family-owned and operated since 1974 in the historic Village of Newcomerstown, Ohio, Tastee Apple, Inc. has sold over 250,000,000 apples with candy, chocolate, caramel, and other toppings. Entrepreneur, Greg Hackenbracht joins us on this segment of Cuisine KaChing. Greg started the Company along with his father, John, when he was only 19 years old.
For 40 years, Greg, along with his management team has been guiding the enterprise with his focus on quality, innovation, culture, process and profit with a passion for constant improvement. And, they’ve frown the Company organically by simply listening to their customers.
The only U.S.A.-based company in the industry certified by the Safe Quality Food Institute, all of the apples go through a unique, seven-step rating process to guarantee the quality and freshness of the fruit. They work with several select apple growers from Missouri, Washington and other locations, favoring the northern-most suppliers because they tend to produce a firmer, longer lasting apple, one that is most optimal for their particular process. Only fresh packers are used
Perfectly-ripe apples are “dipped” in made-from-scratch, small-batch, kettle-cooked caramel or a candy coating. After the apples cool, they are rolled in gooey toppings like milk, dark or white chocolate and then rolled in fresh peanuts, pecans, cookies, or pretzels. The candy and caramel apples are then carefully packaged, stored and shipped to stores throughout the country to enjoy with family and friends.
The company has achieved a fascinating balance of “home-made-from-scratch quality along with process-manufacturing and massive scale.