{"id":23607,"date":"2026-06-13T14:11:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/sugarbee-apple-creator-brewster-heights-files-chapter-11-fruit-growers-news\/"},"modified":"2026-06-13T14:11:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T14:11:46","slug":"sugarbee-apple-creator-brewster-heights-files-chapter-11-fruit-growers-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/2026\/06\/13\/sugarbee-apple-creator-brewster-heights-files-chapter-11-fruit-growers-news\/","title":{"rendered":"SugarBee Apple Creator Brewster Heights Files Chapter 11 – Fruit Growers News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In announcing the restructuring, BHPO emphasized that its orchards remain productive and its packing operations are continuing as normal.
According to a GlobeNewswire press release,<\/a> Brewster Heights Packing & Orchards (BHPO), one of Washington state’s largest apple and cherry operations and the developer of the popular SugarBee apple variety, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, underscoring the mounting financial pressures facing specialty crop growers.
The Brewster, Washington-based company announced June 9 that it has initiated a voluntary Chapter 11 restructuring process in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington. The company said orchard, packing, storage and shipping operations will continue uninterrupted during the restructuring.
BHPO is widely recognized in the apple industry as the creator and owner of the SugarBee brand, one of the most successful managed apple varieties introduced in recent decades. The company also holds interests in other proprietary apple brands, including LucyGlo, LucyRose and Rockit.
RELATED – Inside CMI Orchards\u2019 climate-positive tree fruit production strategy<\/a>
The filing comes as growers throughout the tree fruit sector continue to grapple with a challenging farm economy<\/a> marked by elevated labor expenses, rising production costs and persistent margin pressure. Washington apple and cherry growers have faced years of increasing costs for labor, crop inputs, packaging, transportation and regulatory compliance, while returns have struggled to keep pace.
In announcing the restructuring, BHPO emphasized that its orchards remain productive and its packing operations are continuing as normal.
“We have taken this deliberate step to provide BHPO with the financial framework needed to address our balance sheet, preserve our operations, and position this business for long-term success,” Daniel Gebbers, chief executive officer of BHPO, said in a statement.
The vertically integrated company operates more than 8,000 acres of orchards and manages packing facilities capable of handling more than 5 million boxes of fruit annually. BHPO serves retail, wholesale and export customers throughout North America and international markets.
RELATED – How Gee Whiz is redefining premium apples through innovation<\/a>
As part of the restructuring process, BHPO secured debtor-in-possession financing intended to support payroll, orchard operations, packing activities, logistics and grower programs. The company also announced a letter of intent with Legendary Fruit, a portfolio company of International Farming, to serve as a stalking horse bidder in a court-supervised sale process.
International Farming manages more than 7,000 acres of apples, cherries and pears in Washington state, while Legendary Fruit operates multiple packing facilities in the region.
BHPO said it will conduct a competitive marketing process during the Chapter 11 proceedings to seek additional interested parties and maximize value for stakeholders.
The bankruptcy filing represents one of the most notable restructurings in the Washington tree fruit sector in recent years and highlights the difficult economic environment<\/a> facing even large, vertically integrated operations with established brands and significant market presence.<\/p>\n

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Ranked the No. 1 industry resource by fruit growers.Industry-leading growing coverage from an award-winning teamResources to improve business operations, educate about the latest products & provide growing insightsA NEW print & digital brand for those in the organic farming businessProduce industry insights \u2014 from raw to readyThe potato industry\u2019s premier national resourceRanked the No. 1 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnewstoday.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}