Apple interview: How to Ace the Apple Interview Process [Updated 2023]
How to Ace the Apple Interview Process [Updated 2023]
Because of its unparalleled success and general industry esteem, Apple is a desirable employer to many software engineers. It brags competitive salaries and benefits such as a discounted stock purchase program, tuition reimbursement, and $300 in monthly gym credits.
However, with talent vying to get in the door, Apple presents a competitive interview process. Whether you have already landed an interview at Apple or are hoping to get one, at Carrus, we will break down exactly what you can expect from the interview process and how to set yourself up for an offer.
The Apple Campus
The Process Explained
How long is the Apple Interview Process?
The first step in acing your Apple interview is understanding what to expect during the process. The process generally takes between 1.5 and 2 months depending on the position you are interviewing for.
Application or Initial Contact
The first part of the Apple interview process is the initial application or recruiter contact. At this stage, either you will be contacted by a recruiter (or contact one yourself), or apply on the careers page.
Phone Screening
If you look great on paper, you will be asked to participate in a phone screening meant to gauge if you fit the build for the position. During this phase, you can expect to answer basic questions about your prior experience and why you are interested in working for Apple.
FaceTime Interviews
If the phone screening is a success, you will be asked to participate in a FaceTime call with the hiring manager. If you are interviewing for an engineering role, this call will be used primarily to gauge your technical knowledge and expertise.
Position Assessments
Depending on the position you are interviewing for, you may have a take-home exercise to complete following successful completion of the FaceTime interview. What you can expect from the assessment largely depends on what role and team you are interviewing for.
Some candidates must complete the exercise in the Apple Assessment Center (this generally applies to new grads or corporate hires).
Other candidates will be asked to participate in a group exercise or written test.
Onsite Interviews
If you pass the assessment, you will be asked to come onsite to the Apple campus, where you will go through a 6-hour interview process where you will meet with 8 to 15 different people at the organization.
Apple Interview Questions and Example Answers
During your Apple interview, you can expect to be assessed on a series of core competencies. They are also known for assessing candidates on how they have handled prior experiences and challenges throughout their careers. For that reason, you should also be prepared to respond to various behavioral questions.
At Carrus, we recommend using the STAR method to respond to behavioral questions. If you are unfamiliar with this framework, it is an acronym for the suggested response format.
S – Situation: provide context on the situation
T – Task: Explain the task at hand
A – Action: What actions did you take to complete the task?
R – Results: What was the outcome of your action.
Tell Me About a Time You Dealt With Conflict Between Design & Development
This question is designed to assess how you work with other functional areas and resolve conflict when it arises. You should choose an example here where you took charge of the conflict resolution process, and it resulted in a better outcome.
Answer:
S – My team was creating a new beta mobile application for our clients. When we received the prototype and design files, there was a feature that would be incredibly time-consuming and expensive to build from a development standpoint.
T – Implementing the requested feature would severely prolong the launch of the application and, in many ways, was not necessary for the initial beta. So, to ensure that things launched on time, I had to figure out what we could do differently for the beta product.
A – I suggested a feature that would offer a similar benefit to the design team’s proposed feature but require considerably fewer development resources to implement.
R – We proceeded with my suggested feature and uncovered that only 3% of users in the beta test even used it, indicating that there was not a need for the functionality. Had we implemented the initial design proposal, we would have spent twelve times the time and money on implementing the initial request to uncover that users would not use it.
Tell Me About the Biggest Challenge You Had in the Workplace and How You Solved It
This question is open-ended enough to allow you to brag on your biggest accomplishment or a project you are most proud of. Your response to this question should showcase your ability to come up with creative solutions to complex problems and execute them effectively.
Answer:
S – In my position at Facebook, on the business platform team, we uncovered that business engagement on the app was declining. There had been a 4% decrease in total posts contributed from businesses year over year.
T – I was in charge of finding a way to increase business engagement on the platform.
A – I led the initiative to overhaul the business suite and create a seamless way for businesses to create content for their pages. I came up with the idea of implementing a feature for daily post suggestions based on national holidays and historical post-performance.
R – In the initial beta test, we uncovered that businesses that leveraged the new recommended post feature increased their total posts by 11% since the prior period. After rolling it out to all business users, the total number of posts from business users increased by 5%, counteracting the decrease and driving a lift in overall platform engagement.
Tell Me About a Time When You Showed Your Leadership Skills
Whether you are applying for a leadership position or the role has the potential to develop into one, you should be prepared to answer this question. Even in a contributor role, you probably have had opportunities to act as a leader, whether it be leading the charge on a product, delivering feedback to a teammate, or training an intern.
This is an opportunity to brag on those examples.
If you have been in a leadership role before, you should highlight a specific example that you are most proud of. For example, this could be a time your team created something that drove incremental profit to the company or a time your team was recognized by the CEO.
Answer:
S – Our team was growing quickly and we had new people being onboarded to the team just about every week. Training the new folks was time-intensive and took our core team away from their usual work.
T – I challenged myself to solve this problem and create a more efficient way to onboard our new team members.
A – I created an online training course with explanation videos, links to resources, technical documentation, and example projects for them to reference. The course also dynamically populated tech tickets based on where in the course they were and the complexity of the ticket. To make sure they were still receiving adequate support, I would conduct a one-on-one meeting with each new hire after they completed each section or received a new ticket to work on.
I also had an open “office hour” every day where they could stop and ask questions.
R – Our overall team output increased by 25% versus the start of the onboarding period, and our new hires were able to accept complex tickets almost three weeks quicker than they were able to previously.
Tell Me About a Previous Project You Worked On
This question is another open-ended one that gives you the freedom to discuss any project that comes to mind. But, of course, we suggest choosing one that you are especially proud of.
We suggest choosing something that demonstrates the skills required by the position you are applying for. For instance, if you are applying for a technical project manager role, your answer may look something like this:
Answer:
S – I was on a sprint team in charge of migrating our entire on-premise data infrastructure to AWS.
T – I was tasked with leading this initiative and completing it in only four weeks.
A – I staffed the team with seasoned architects and data scientists. I implemented a new project management tool, JIRA, and oversaw the timeline from start to finish by conducting a daily stand-up meeting, sprint planning, and sprint recap meetings.
R – We completed the migration in the 4-week timeline, drove a 30% increase to query run-time speed and increased analyst productivity by 11% as a result.
Final Thoughts
To prepare for your Apple interview:
- Prepare a few examples of your most proud work accomplishments that you can share when asked behavioral questions.
- If you are interviewing for a technical role, be prepared to answer specific technical questions and complete a test assessment to showcase your skills.
- Think in advance about the questions you want to ask your hiring manager.
- Consider hiring a career coach during the process by working with Carrus. We help job seekers just like you land their dream positions.
Additional resources
- Align your Apple interview strategy with 67 Competencies that Apple Uses to Test You in the Interview
- Insider Advice on Crafting Your Resume to Catch the Attention of Hiring Managers at Google, Apple, & Amazon
- Our in-depth 6 part series on using the STAR Interview Method to Nail Any Tech Interview
- Great Questions That YOU Should Ask the Hiring Manager in Your FAANG Interview
Apple Interview Questions (With Example Answers)
Walking into an interview with the hopes of landing a job at Apple is not an easy task. Most interviewees are a bundle of nerves when they’re asked to compete for a position with a prestigious organization like Apple. The best way to ensure your best performance during an interview with Apple is to prepare accordingly.
To begin your preparation process, read through the following 15 common Apple interview questions to start figuring out your answers.
What is your favorite Apple product and why?
There are many purposes to an interview. The hiring manager wants to understand who the applicant is as a person, their past professional accomplishments, and where they’re hoping that their career will take them. However, Apple interviewers will also be curious to know how much you know about their company and products.
Since Apple is a widely recognized brand globally, the hiring manager will be looking for an answer that’s a little deeper than “I like iPhones.”
Explain features of the product that you find especially useful or reasons why it’s a necessity in your daily life. Be sure to pick a product that you’re comfortable talking about in a back-and-forth discussion.
Example Answer:
My favorite Apple product by far is the MacBook Air. Over the past fifteen years, I’ve owned two MacBook Airs, and the devices continually exceeded my expectations. It has an incredible Retina display and excellent security features.
I’ve brought this laptop on long trips in my backpack and worked on it for days on end in my apartment. Anywhere I need to go, the Air can easily be transported to. It gives me more freedom in my life to do my work on the go. Additionally, I like that the MacBook Air is environmentally friendly and recyclable.Why do you want to work for Apple?
There are thousands of people who want to work for the multi-billion dollar corporation Apple.
While recruiters from Apple know that there is an overwhelming desire to work for the company, they’re more interested in why this is the case. To gain insights into why an applicant was motivated to apply for Apple, the hiring manager usually asks a question like this.
While there are probably quite a few reasons why you’re attracted to a position working for Apple, choose the most strategic motivations to discuss. The hiring manager will be looking for a more involved answer than stating you want money or need a job.
Example Answer:
There are two main reasons that I want to work for Apple. First of all, Apple is known to have an extremely supportive work environment that genuinely cares about its employee’s career growth. I want to be part of a team that will help me pursue my career development for years to come, and Apple seems like the perfect place for that. Also, Apple provides its employees with a work-life balance that I believe would foster my best professional output. All in all, it seems that working for Apple would help me be the best employee I can.
What is your proudest accomplishment?
An applicant’s professional accomplishments are an excellent barometer for the heights that their career has gone to. In addition, it shows the achievements that Apple can expect of them if they’re hired.
Choose an accomplishment relevant to the position you’re applying for and demonstrates you as a noteworthy candidate that could bring a lot to the table.
Example Answer:
My proudest accomplishment thus far in my career has been managing a successful marketing project for a multi-million dollar campaign. I worked for the same company for five years as a junior marketer, and I gained a lot of experience during that time. My supervisors noticed and decided to present me with a huge opportunity to lead a team of ten on a new campaign. The project spanned half a year, and I played a much larger role than I ever had before. I ended up thriving in the supervisory position, and the campaign saw an even more profitable turnaround than anticipated.
Tell me about your greatest failure and what you learned from it.
While many interviewees are keen to speak about all the incredible things they’ve accomplished in their careers, a hiring manager for Apple also wants to know about the failures you’ve endured. Specifically, the interviewer wants to know how you learned from the experience and became better for it.
When deciding on a failure to discuss during an Apple interview, pick a situation that ended with a positive outcome.
Example Answer:
My greatest failure happened while working at my last job. I was employed as a customer service manager and supervising a team of 20 employees. A particular employee named Sarah wasn’t doing their job up to par, but I continued to keep her on because we’d built a positive rapport. As a manager, I knew it was my responsibility to ensure that every employee worked to their full potential, but I let her fly under the radar.
Eventually, I started getting an influx of complaints, specifically about Sarah. I hadn’t intervened yet, and now it was impacting the customers. This was a massive failure in my mind, but I immediately took action. I told Sarah that she was officially on a probationary period for the next month and needed to improve or expect termination. The strict management style felt out of my comfort zone, but it ended up improving the situation dramatically, and her performance completely turned around.
Nevertheless, the experience taught me that some situations require sternness as the best form of management.Explain to me what a modem and router are as if I’m an eight-year-old child.
Even if you’re applying for a job with Apple that’s not inherently technical, like a customer service position, the company wants to know that the candidate is still familiar with this type of information and conveying it.
Example Answer:
If I were describing what a modem and router are to an eight-year-old, I’d say that the combination of the two items brings the internet into their home. The modem is a box that pulls the internet into the home by connecting with an internet company. The router is the mechanism that sends this internet power around the home’s computers and is where the WiFi comes from. The two work together to power a home’s internet supply.
What do you hope to be doing five years from now?
When Apple is hiring for an open position, they want to know where candidates see themselves over the next few years.
It helps them understand if the applicant plans to grow within the Apple company or use it as a stepping stone for moving on to other opportunities.
While it’s impossible to know the future for sure, make your best-educated guess at where you’ll be in your career five years from now. Steer clear of cheesy answers like “I hope that I’ll be your boss!”. A respectable company like Apple wants candidates who demonstrate thorough planning skills and seriousness about their careers.
Example Answer:
Throughout my career, I’ve been working towards taking on more supervisory responsibilities. With that being said, I hope that five more years of work will solidify this goal and that I’ll be working at the management level of the Apple corporation. I plan to prove my worth during that time and demonstrate why I’d be an effective supervisor for Apple.
Describe a time that you went above and beyond for a customer.
The Apple company values itself as a brand that goes to any lengths necessary to meet its customer’s expectations.
As such, the brand expects the employees that they hire to uphold these values.
In an Apple interview, you’ll likely receive some questions about your customer service skills like this one. Be prepared to discuss your experience in this area even if the job you’re hoping to get doesn’t deal with customers too much.
Example Answer:
When I was working at my very first job as a retail sales associate for a major luxury clothing line, I was handling an average of 100 or more customers every day. A woman had come in and was looking for an outfit to wear to her daughter’s wedding. She was very picky and wanted an associate to help her hold and go through all her options. I ended up spending nearly an hour working with her to find the perfect outfit, but in the end, she left an excellent comment about me with my manager.
How would you handle a co-worker who was distracting you?
Certain scenarios occur in most workplaces, even at a company that’s as massive as Apple.
One of those typical professional scenarios is dealing with a distracting or frustrating co-worker.
While this circumstance can happen, Apple wants to be sure that the candidate they choose to hire is prepared to handle this type of scenario professionally.
When answering this kind of question, it can be helpful to outline a similar situation that’s happened to you in the past. Describe what happened, how you handled it, and what the eventual outcome was.
Example Answer:
I’ve worked with a wide array of personalities before, and sometimes even the ones that I like can be distracting in the workplace. I think the best way to handle this circumstance when it arises is by moving forward with direct and professional communication.
For example, in a former position, I worked with a co-worker with whom I was friends outside of work and constantly talked to me when I was trying to accomplish my daily tasks. It began to get extremely distracting, so I ended up explaining to my co-worker plainly that I needed to focus during business hours and that I’d be happy to chat after work or at lunch.
He understood, apologized, and the situation improved dramatically.Have you ever disagreed with one of your supervisors? How did you handle the situation?
Another situation that can commonly occur in the workplace is an employee disagreeing with their supervisor. At Apple, they want to make sure that they’re hiring a candidate who is prepared to take on this occurrence professionally and effectively while maintaining a positive teamwork environment.
To figure out how an applicant might handle tough situations, like disagreeing with their boss, the hiring manager for Apple will ask a question like this one.
Don’t just brush over this question by stating that you’ve never disagreed with your boss before. Even if it were a situation that happened in your first job, the hiring manager would be looking for your interpersonal skills in handling the situation. It looks bad if you try to avoid the question as opposed to outlining a legitimate circumstance.
Example Answer:
Yes, I’ve disagreed with a supervisor before. An instance that comes to mind was in my last job. I was working on a project with a team of ten other individuals being supervised by one member of higher management. The supervisor was insistent on keeping the costs of our project low, but I believed she had set the bar too low for the project to be feasible. So I wrote up a presentation about why I thought the budget should be adjusted despite the supervisor’s goals. The supervisor responded positively to my suggestion and ended up raising the budget by $100,000.
What would you do if a customer came in with an iPhone that wasn’t working?
While Apple follows a specific protocol for customers who come in with malfunctioning devices, they still want to know what a candidate’s immediate instincts would be in this situation. When responding to this question, try to speak about your actions as a series of steps that you plan to take.
This makes it easier for the hiring manager to follow.
Example Answer:
If a customer came into the Apple store with an iPhone that wasn’t working properly, I’d take a few distinct steps to solve the problem. Firstly, I would ask the customer about the history of their device with questions like when they got it, where it was bought and if it’s had any issues in the past. Next, I’d figure out exactly what the malfunction was to get a better idea of what the cause might be. Then, if it’s something in my range of knowledge, I will troubleshoot the issue with them. Otherwise, if it’s outside my expertise, I will present the customer with their options for sending the device to the Apple warehouse. Throughout the entire interaction, I would remain solution-oriented.
Name three accessibility features that are available on the iPhone.
This is another question that will put a candidate’s knowledge of Apple products to the test.
However, the inquisition goes a little deeper to quiz their familiarity with a device’s accessibility features. Name a few attributes that come to mind to demonstrate your knowledge of Apple features.
Example Answer:
Three accessibility features that come to mind as available on today’s iPhone are the magnifier, text size alteration, and the digital assistant Siri.
Why should we hire you?
It’s natural to feel a little uneasy when a hiring manager looks you dead in the eyes and states the obvious question – why should they hire you? It’s direct enough to be unnerving, but answering this question well and selling yourself effectively can be the push needed to get you a job offer at Apple.
When responding to this question, list the strengths that will make you stand out from the pack of other promising candidates who want to work for Apple. Then, try to tie these skills to qualities required or requested for the position you’re interviewing for.
Example Answer:
You should hire me for this position because my character, skills, and experience match the type of candidate that Apple is looking for in this position. As requested by the job posting, I’ve had five years of experience as a product specialist in the technology field and superb customer service and communication skills. Additionally, I have a knack for problem-solving and positivity, which I believe would be extremely useful in this role.
If you accepted a job with Apple, what would you miss most about your current position?
While this question might come across as initially unrelated to the interview, Apple hiring managers ask it with intention. They want to understand what aspects of your job, field, and former company you enjoy and what you would respond to positively. It also demonstrates how you’ll speak about a past employer.
Be sure to maintain professionalism when answering this question and speaking about former jobs.
Example Answer:
If I were offered this opportunity to work with Apple, I would be absolutely thrilled, but I’d also miss certain things about my current position. Mainly, I would miss my amazing co-workers and supervisors at my former place of employment because I grew a great working relationship with them.
What does your current availability look like?
In addition to asking about your working experience in the past, a hiring manager for Apple wants to gather what your availability for the future will look like. Of course, being asked this question doesn’t automatically mean that you’ve been chosen for the job, but it’s a step in the right direction.
Provide an accurate picture of your current availability if you were offered the job.
Example Answer:
Currently, I have open availability to take on a new professional opportunity with Apple. I’d be available to work a full-time 40-hour schedule with the possibility of overtime or weekends if required.
Do you have any questions for me?
To close an interview with an Apple hiring manager, you’ll usually be asked if you have any questions for them. This isn’t a simple throwaway request, and your answer will tell the recruiter a lot about you. Walk into the interview prepared with good questions to ask at the end of the discussion.
Example Answer:
Yes, I do have two questions for you. My first question is, what is your favorite thing about being an employee for Apple? Secondly, I was wondering who I will be reporting to in this position and if I’ll get a chance to meet them?
Interviews with representatives of the French apple sector
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Interview with Mr.
Jean-Louis Bounie, Commercial Director for Russia at Perlim0030 , Perlim)
Could you please tell us a few words about your company?
Perlim was founded in the sixties, headquartered in the Limousin region, in the heart of France. Initially, Perlim chose Golden apples as his specialty, originating from the high mountain plateaus of the region, where the traditions of the highest quality are extremely developed, guaranteeing the traceability of apples from the orchard to their shipment. Such control guarantees the consumer high-quality and healthy apples. Perlim is the only company in France that produces AOP (Protected Designation of Origin) apples How long have you been exporting apples to Russia?
Since 1995 we have been operating on the Russian market. Export volumes range from 700 tons in 2010 to 9,000 tons in the 2007-2008 season. There were also periods of stagnation: after the terrible financial crisis in 1998 in Russia, and also in 2008 due to the international financial crisis.
In the last season 2009-2010, we returned to good export volumes of 8,400 tons, but with a significant reduction in value. First of all, this happened due to the saturation of the European market with large-caliber apples. nine0035 How do you assess the prospects for the upcoming 2010-2011 season?
Despite the unpretentiousness of the skin, more pronounced this year due to late spring frosts, the Limousin Golden has exceptional flavor characteristics such as crunchiness, sugars and acidity. We expect to export about 10,000 tons of our apples to Russia during the entire 2010/2011 season, as they are already very much loved by the Russians. In addition, Russian consumers prefer large apples. nine0035 Do you work with partners from Moscow and St. Petersburg? Or is there already a certain dynamics on the part of the regions?
Currently our main partners are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At the same time, there is an obvious trend towards the gradual development of direct imports from regional megacities.
Increasingly, we receive requests from regional operators who know our apples and are ready to buy them directly. This is a normal course of events, which will lead to direct imports by operators from regions, often very remote, as soon as they can provide guarantees for their stability, as well as organize a logistics component. nine0035 What makes it difficult to export apples to Russia?
We have a real problem with insurance companies insuring export risks. Insurers are extremely reluctant to provide insurance coverage, which is absolutely necessary for the normal conduct of business. This makes our job extremely difficult. However, we hope that insurance companies will be able to reconsider their position in relation to the Russian market, which will solve this problem. www.perlim.com
Interview with Mr. Daniel Corbel, General Manager of Cardell Export Could you please tell us a few words about your company ?
Our company, Cardel Export, is located in the south-east of France, in Avignon.
We sell about 60,000 tons every year, of which 60% is exported How did you get started with the Russian market?
Our first export deliveries of apples to Russia were at the beginning of 90th. At that time, it was one of our structures AFD Dipra, later transformed into Kardel Export. In recent years, we have been exporting about 2,000 tons of apples to Russia. This does not apply to the 2009-2010 season, which is extremely difficult due to financial and phytosanitary problems. Our main export varieties are Granny Smith and Golden. But we are also gradually introducing new varieties to the Russian market: Pink Lady, Sundowner and .., why not, our variety Juliet Bio. Prospects for the development of the Russian market from the point of view of Kardel Export ?
The Russian market has a difficult path of development, not all of our clients have been able to survive repeated crises. Now our partners are better structured, more professional and transparent.
Due to high customs duties, until December 31, our trade turnover with Russia is extremely low. The season starts in January every year. How do you assess the prospects for the coming season 2010-2011?
The low harvest in Europe in general, and in particular in Eastern Europe, allows us to hope for a good trade turnover starting from January 1 and for the entire second half of the season. nine0035 Will you develop work with Russian regions?
At the moment our main partners are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In our opinion, direct imports to the regions will develop as soon as regional operators master all the intricacies of international trade. However, the main problem remains financial stability and phytosanitary barriers. www.cardell.fr
Interview with Mr. Bernard BAGO, Managing Director of BVL (Bernard Bagault, BVL) A few words about your company ?
BVL sells the products of 5 cooperatives located in the Loire Valley (300 km west of Paris).
Customers are always the focus of our commercial department. We constantly control the quality of the entire technological chain: the work of the BVL company itself is ISO 9001 version 2008 certified, sorting stations are BRC certified, and the orchards themselves are certified by GLOBAL GAP and TESCO NURTURE. The locomotive of our range is the proven varieties Royal Gala, Granny, Golden, Braeburn, Red Chief. But we also deal with club varieties: Pink Lady, Tantación, Angelis, Ariane and Sandauer. We sell our apples all over the world, but we work especially closely with the countries of the Middle East, South America, Asia, but also with Russia, where we would like to develop long-term partnerships. nine0035 What are the characteristics of the Russian market?
From year to year, the volume of our exports to Russia is growing along with the growth of the purchasing power of the population. This is especially true for large metropolitan areas, where demand is more diverse in terms of apple varieties.
Consumers and retail chains are becoming more demanding in terms of quality, but at the same time claiming the lowest prices, which is not feasible. This trend may complicate trading in the second half of this season. However, we expect strong demand in the Russian market starting from January. The main varieties supplied to the Russian market are Granny, Golden and red varieties. It should be noted the increased interest on the part of Moscow retail chains in club varieties of apples, such as Pink Lady, Sandauer, Ariane, this applies a little less to Tantasion. Despite the fact that Russia is considered a market for large apples, this is by no means an absolute truth. This statement is still true for premium chains that are willing to pay for larger calibers. In the mass, the Russian market is focused on medium calibers, in bulk, since this is a cheaper product. This is especially evident in the first half of the season, when high customs duties are in effect. I should note that customs duties have increased greatly, especially in December.
nine0035 Do you work with partners from Moscow and St. Petersburg? Or is there already a certain dynamics on the part of the regions?
Our key Russian partners are located in Moscow and St. Petersburg, cities with the most developed retail chains. From here, our apples are sent to major cities throughout Russia. However, the regions also have their own organized retail, which is interested in the development of direct imports, which makes it possible to predict the development of direct deliveries to the regions of Russia in the future. nine0039
What makes it difficult to export apples to Russia?
The main obstacles to exporting apples to Russia are the problems of export risk insurance and phytosanitary barriers, which together hinder the liquidity of sales and hinder trade. www.bvl.fr
Interview with Thomas Decouden, Russia Manager at Blue Whale SAS A few words about your company?
The Blue Vale Group, headquartered in Montauban in southwest France, sells 180,000 tons of apples, kiwis, plums, grapes and pears annually.
Our presence in the main production regions (southwest, southeast, Alpes and Loire Valley) provides a full range of products throughout the year and also allows us to respond quickly to the needs of our customers and suppliers. Representing 80% of our sales, apples are the backbone of our business. 75% of products are exported to 47 countries of the world. Thus, we are a leader and recognized expert in this field, both in France and abroad. As confirmation of this recognition, on December 6, the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, together with the Ministry of Foreign Trade, awarded us 1st prize for the dynamic development of exports in the field of agriculture. nine0035 How long have you been working with the Russian market? What has changed since then?
Blue Vale began working with Russia immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall. There were ups and downs (for example, due to the crisis in 1998). Our export volumes have gradually grown to reach 13,000 tons today.
Over the past 3-4 years, there has been a general trend towards stabilization of exports of French apples, in particular for traditional varieties (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Red Chief ..) And at the same time, the demand for new varieties such as Ariane and Pink Lady is growing significantly. . In the total volume over the past 5 years, our market share is approximately 40%. nine0035 How do you assess the prospects for the upcoming 2010-2011 season?
In terms of export volumes, the beginning of the season (from August to December) is always difficult. At this time, the Russian apple market is filled with cheap apples from the southern regions of Russia, from Moldova, Serbia and Poland. Starting from January 1, French exports begin to increase due to lower customs duties, as well as commodity stocks of locally produced apples. As for our company directly, we forecast sales at the level of 11-12 thousand tons this season. But the result will depend both on competition with Italy and on the harvest in South America.
As for the price level, then, based on the pan-European harvest, price quotations for apples for industry (juices and purees), we can expect better prices for apples in the second half of the season. nine0039 What varieties of apples do Russian consumers prefer?
Russians traditionally love sour apples. Granny Smith is out of competition here. In general, the most favorite varieties correspond to the classic color distribution: yellow / green / two-color.
Yellow apples are Golden
Green apples are Granny and Simirenko
Two-tone apples are Idared, Jonagored and Gloucester Although it is extremely difficult to draw a portrait of the typical Russian consumer, I find that Russians are inquisitive and open to everything new. For example, the Arian variety this year enjoyed extraordinary success in the stores of the Perekrestok chain, which are part of the X5 Group. This success was due to a wide communication campaign (flyers, city-format banners and tastings were used) Do you cooperate with Russian regions?
Historically, the regions have always been active in purchasing through importers of St.
Petersburg, which is a strategic logistics distribution center. But more recently, regional wholesalers and retailers have begun to invest in the creation of warehouses and logistics centers for the development of direct imports from France. Perm, Nizhniy Novgorod, Krasnodar and Astrakhan have especially advanced in this respect. What makes it difficult to export to Russia? nine0030
Many factors: – lack of insurance cover for export risks (COFACE)
– exchange rate volatility
– deferred payment
– high customs duties (on average 0.25 – 0.3 euros per kg)
– phytosanitary barriers: the need for laboratory analyses, provision of safety certificates and declarations Let’s hope that the upcoming negotiations on Russia’s accession to the WTO will abolish some of these factors.
www.blue-whale.com
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What is the main meaning of the holiday?
On August 19, the Orthodox Church and all believers celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Or Apple Savior: this is how it is called by the people, because according to tradition, the fruits of the new harvest are consecrated on this day.
In general, according to ancient tradition, on this day it was supposed to consecrate grapes, from which wine was made for the sacrament of Holy Communion. But in Rus’, where for the most part the grapes do not ripen, they were replaced by apples. Whole mountains of apples lie on this day on long, hastily knocked down tables in the courtyards of all Orthodox churches. The priest reads over them a special prayer for fruits and grapes, generously sprinkles apples and parishioners who brought them with holy water. And everyone who came to church that day gets an apple. nine0027
Transformation – what is its essence and relevance?
But apples, of course, are not the main thing for the Transfiguration. “Orthodox holidays are not just a set of ancient traditions, customs, and rituals,” the spiritual guardian of the Preobrazhensky Brotherhood, priest Georgy Kochetkov , said in an interview with MIR 24 .
“Our holidays also have a much deeper dimension, which, unfortunately, is not always talked about even in churches and which people sometimes do not know and do not guess.” Kochetkov tells. nine0027
“On this mountain with the disciples Peter, James and John, Jesus ascends right before His suffering on the Cross and is transfigured before them, illumined by the divine radiance. This bright event for the apostles is a sign of the love of God the Father for the Son of Christ and those who are with Him, a sign of hope that will help them get through the upcoming tragedy: the arrest, unjust trial and shameful execution of the Teacher,” says researcher at St. -Christian Institute (SFI) Vladimir Yakuntsev. nine0192
According to Father Georgiy, the light of Tabor is a special light, not quite the one we are used to. “It is as if the Lord God himself gives it to us from his being, from his nature. It was this light that Christ on Tabor found and was able to show to his disciples.
This means that people – not only Christ, but all of his disciples – have the opportunity to partake of this light, the grace of the Lord directly. This is very important to know for all people, and especially believers. Because we are called to acquire just such grace of the Holy Spirit, to acquire such light, to live always with such love. This is the meaning of the Gospel in this plot,” says the priest. nine0027
Photo: Wikipedia
According to Yakuntsev, the very meaning of the feast of the Transfiguration is associated with the renewal of life, when the beauty of God’s gifts, revealed through human efforts and labors, is revealed in it. Many people in their lives could clearly feel and recognize God’s help. “A person who has the most important business of life – after all, not everyone has it – a great and important business, with which serious hopes are connected for himself and his neighbors, has such an experience when his forces and means, talents, luck, assistants – lacks.
He understands that without some kind of radical intervention, all his efforts may be in vain: the inertia of life is too great, the resistance of circumstances, there is not enough time to be in time, – says Vladimir Yakuntsev. – And this decisive intervention of God is always connected not just with spiritual, psychological or worldly support, which can be important in its own way. The mystery of the Transfiguration is associated with such deep communication, into which God’s Light breaks, and the laws of our world – space and time – at some point give way to other laws: openness, ease, trust. It is no coincidence that the gospel story about the ascent to Tabor is, first of all, a story about intimate and close communion. nine0027
This holiday is best celebrated together with spiritually close people for whom the whole story of the Lord’s Transfiguration is not a legend, but an object of their sincere faith. The transformation is very conducive to unity, openness, and the manifestation of trust.
Gather not only apples, but also the fruits of life, creativity, faith
People supplement the Feast of the Transfiguration by gathering the first fruits of their lives, their activities, their labors in this world. “According to ancient tradition, we bring apples with us to the temple for consecration to show that, while gathering the fruits of the earth, we think not only about ourselves, but we want them to be evidence of God’s power and God’s love for us. We see how this love nourishes us and gives us such beauty! – says Georgy Kochetkov. “This custom is wonderful, but you can collect not only fruits, not only material fruits. You can collect spiritual fruits. You can gather people, the Church of Christ itself. After all, people for God are the best spiritual fruits that he wants to see, which he loves, which he is waiting for. nine0027
Photo: Dmitry Feoktistov/TASS
Georgy Kochetkov: “Every person needs not only to repent, not only to think about their sins, to grieve about their losses and mistakes.
Every person needs, first of all, the joy of communication and the joy of service, self-giving. Let people have more of these fruits, let people themselves gather into spiritual families. This is the true Church of Christ, its triumph.” This day must be met not alone, but together with spiritually close people, for whom the whole story of the Lord’s Transfiguration is not a legend, but an object of their sincere faith. nine0027
“For example, we created an Orthodox community of people from different cities – the Transfiguration Brotherhood. For us, this holiday is a kind of name day, for which we have been gathering together for 30 years already, we come from different cities of Russia and abroad and invite our friends from different countries, – says chairman of the Orthodox Transfiguration Brotherhood Dmitry Gasak . – This year, due to pandemic restrictions, our holiday is held in the format of the online marathon “Having Hope” – a series of meetings about the revival of the Russian people and culture, which is impossible without faith that the Lord can transform us.