At Publix, we observed four different brands of applesauce for sale. These four brands include Musselman’s, Mott’s, Publix store brand, and the Publix Greenwise Brand. At Publix, these brands were sold in a variety of containers including jars and six-packs of plastic containers. While the brands consistently had similar ingredients, there were a few distinct differences. The Publix store brand contained Erythorbic acid, which it claims was to maintain color, the Mott’s contained Ascorbic acid for Vitamin C purposes, and the Publix Greenwise claimed to have organic apples for which it gave no explanation as to how a produce is certified organic. Mott’s and Publix Store Brand had a variety of flavors available while Musselman’s and Greenwise strictly were available in old fashioned and unsweetened varieties. The applesauce like the other stores we visited was placed on lower shelves. Publix had one of the larger selections of applesauce and offered a variety that would appeal to any applesauce consumer. A 48 oz. jar of Mott’s was the most expensive at $2.99 followed by the Mott’s 6-pack containers at $2.39. It is worth noting that the Publix Greenwise retailed for a $1.89 and was the only organic offering at Publix. Of the shelves occupied by applesauce, the Mott’s was shelved on top followed by the Publix brands, and then Musselman’s off to the right. This design allows for consumers to see the lower prices Publix brand surrounded by the higher priced name brands on either side.

At Walmart, we noticed that they have three major brands of apple sauce in the shelves: the original Mott’s Apple Sauce, Musselman’s Apple Sauce, and the Great Value Apple Sauce. Each brand also sold their apple sauces in a 6-pack container. Additionally, we noticed that they have the squeezable “to-go” apple sauces on the shelves.

Each brand has about the same ingredients, with the exception of the “No Sugar Added” and “Light” apple sauces that each brand offered. The ingredients are: Apples, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water and Ascorbic Acid to Maintain Color, and Mott’s claims that Ascorbic Acid is Vitamin C.

For each 48 oz jar, Musselman’s price is $3.48, the most expensive one out of the three. Musselman’s comes from a grower-owned company, Knouse Foods, a company dedicated to growing healthy apples. As for Mott’s, there price is $2.68, and finally, the Great Value brand for $2.48. The location of these products were somewhere in the middle of the store, the Mott’s apple sauce was stocked above all the others, but Walmart’s Great Value was stocked right in the middle for a better look at by consumers.

Fresh Market’s approach to presenting their applesauce selection was quite similar to that of Trader Joe’s and Publix. The applesauce was located in the baking aisle on the bottom shelf. The selection was limited. Two brands were available, with a spread of 4 varieties (unsweetened, sweetened, organic unsweetened, cinnamon). Fresh Market’s label, priced at $2.50, was $3.50 less than the other available brand, “Vermont’s Village Applesauce.” The key difference between the two brands was the organic certification of Vermont’s Village Applesauce. The label was much more elaborate for the Vermont product, with an image of a family farm, red barns and rolling hills, while Fresh Market’s label was clean, simplistic, and allowed the product and pricing to speak for itself.

Ward’s, unlike the rest of the supermarkets we visited, is a family-owned supermarket. The store featured three different brands of applesauce. The three brands were Santa Cruz Organic, Eden Food’s Organic, and Mott’s.

Contrary to the other stores, Ward’s only markets single, medium-sized jars of applesauce. The packaging size for Mott’s, Eden’s Foods, and Santa Cruz Organic were 24oz, 25oz and 23oz, respectively. Most likely, Ward’s does not market the six-pack snack sized variations because the store focuses their sales on produce and bulk items, such as beans and grains.

The most prominent variety at Ward’s was Santa Cruz Organics, offering Cinnamon Apple Sauce, Apple Strawberry Sauce, and their regular Apple Sauce product. The Cinnamon Apple Sauce product only contained organic apple, apple juice, organic cinnamon, and ascorbic acid. The Apple Strawberry Sauce consisted of organic apples, strawberry puree, organic apple juice, fruit and vegetable juices for coloring, and ascorbic acid. The regular Apple Sauce variation only contained organic apples, apple juice and ascorbic acid. Each container has the price of $4.49 per container.

Eden Food’s Organic Apple Sauce and Mott’s Applesauce only provided regular, original applesauce. However, Eden Food’s Organic Apple Sauce was the most expensive, at 5.49 per container. The product is free of any additives including apple juice or sugar and contains nothing but organic apples. Mott’s Applesauce was the cheapest applesauce at Ward’s being only $2.49 per container. The difference in price is supported by the difference in ingredients, when compared to the other two brands and variations offered. The ingredients include non-organic apples, high fructose corn syrup, water and ascorbic acid.

Ward’s applesauce offering was found near other baking products. The products were shown at eye level. The Santa Cruz Organic Apple Sauce and Eden Food’s Organic Apple Sauce were both next to each other, but Mott’s Applesauce was below the other two brands and was almost isolated from the organic applesauce offerings.

Ward’s is a supporter of local foods and fresh foods and it is evident that their applesauce products, along with other national products, are not a major focus of the store. The applesauce was priced higher than most of the other stores and the selection was limited.