Apricot
Our customers use apricots because they provide natural sweetness, vibrant color, and functional versatility in a wide range of products. Apricots are commonly used in baked goods, snacks, confectionery, and dairy products. Their naturally high sugar content allows manufacturers to enhance flavor while reducing the need for added sugars, and their soft texture makes them effective as a binding or filling ingredient. Apricots are also rich in nutrients like beta-carotene and fiber, which supports health-focused marketing claims. Additionally, their bright orange color improves the visual appeal of products, while their availability in shelf-stable forms makes them practical for large-scale production and long-term storage.
Apricot can be supplied as organic upon request
Botanical: Prunus armeniaca
A Golden Legacy
The apricot (Prunus armeniaca) is a cold-hardy stone fruit celebrated worldwide for its velvety texture, vibrant golden-orange pigmentation, and delicate balance of sweet floral notes and tart malic acidity. Rich in beta-carotene (pro-vitamin A), natural dietary fiber, and potassium, the apricot is a staple building block across beverage, bakery, dairy, and confectionery manufacturing. In commercial processing, cultivar selection and flesh characteristics dictate the final color, viscosity, and acid ratio of the ingredients.
Patterson & Tilton (North American Standards) are known for their firm flesh, bright golden color, and excellent heat-processing stability. Patterson apricots provide clean acidity and consistent Brix, making them ideal for high-yield apricot NFC juice, bakery preps, and baby food purees. Malatya / European Cultivars (Hacihaliloglu & Kabaasi,) originating from the world-renowned Malatya basin in Turkey, these European-style apricots exhibit naturally high sugar density, smooth flesh texture, and low fiber content. They are the premier choice for rich 30°–32° Brix puree concentrates and sweet, aromatic juice blends. Blenheim (Royal) are highly aromatic with an intensely sweet-tart flavor profile and vibrant orange flesh, widely favored for artisan craft beverages, specialty preserves, and gourmet bakery glazes.
Brothers International partners with origin processors who harvest apricots at peak ripeness when carotenoid density and soluble sugars achieve optimal balance. The fruit is immediately de-stoned (pitted) and pulped or pressed under low-temperature processing to capture its delicate aroma and bright color.
Global Sourcing Through the Brothers International Network:
Securing a continuous, year-round supply of industrial apricot ingredients requires an expansive agricultural reach across prime temperate growing zones. Apricot orchards are notoriously vulnerable to late-spring frosts, which can destroy early blossom yields and cause severe regional crop shortfalls. Brothers International bridges origin processors and North American manufacturers through our established global network of audited suppliers.
We source high-grade apricot ingredients from key global agricultural belts:
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Mediterranean & Middle East (Turkey, Spain & Italy): Turkey—specifically the Malatya region—is the undisputed global powerhouse for commercial apricot cultivation, yielding dense, highly flavorful purees and concentrates. Mediterranean origins (Spain and Italy) supply premium apricot NFC juice and clean-label European purees.
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North America (United States): California’s San Joaquin Valley leads domestic production, providing high-quality, fully traceable Patterson and Tilton apricot NFC juices, apricot purees, and specialty organic formats.
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South America (Chile & Argentina): Provides vital counter-seasonal processing capacity, ensuring fresh-crop supply during the Northern Hemisphere’s winter months.
By coordinating supply across North America, the Mediterranean, Middle East, and South America, Brothers International insulates your manufacturing facility from localized weather anomalies, crop shortages, and commodity price swings.
Harvest Cycles & Continuous Supply Management:
In the Northern Hemisphere, the primary apricot harvest is brief and intense, running from late May through July. In the Southern Hemisphere (Chile), harvesting occurs counter-seasonally from December through January. Because raw apricots soften rapidly after picking, origin processing, de-stoning, and pasteurization must take place within hours of harvest.
Managing these compressed processing windows and coordinating international shipping lanes is a core competency of Brothers International. Our operations and logistics teams oversee multi-quarter inventory allocations, cold-chain maritime freight, USDA/FDA import clearances, C-TPAT supply chain security, and strategic warehousing across North America. Whether your facility requires single-strength NFC juice in pails, 30° Brix puree concentrate in drums, or 65° Brix clarified juice concentrate in bulk totes, our network ensures ready inventory when your production line demands it.
Rigorous Quality Control, Traceability & Compliance:
Processing stone fruits like apricots demands advanced pitting technology and multi-stage mesh filtration to eliminate pit fragments and skin sclereids while preserving natural pectin and smooth mouthfeel. Every supplier within the Brothers International network undergoes a comprehensive auditing process to guarantee complete supply chain traceability, sustainable agricultural practices, and strict compliance with USDA, FDA, and international food safety standards.
Through our network, we deliver apricot ingredients backed by complete technical documentation and top-tier industry certifications, including GFSI benchmarks (BRC, SQF, FSSC 22000), USDA Organic (NOP), Kosher, Non-GMO, and Halal standards. Our quality assurance protocols include rigorous testing for pit fragment limits, pesticide residues, heavy metals, microbial safety, titratable acidity, beta-carotene color stability, and Brix adherence under FDA 21 CFR § 101.30.
The Brothers International
Quality Promise
Brothers International and its 4 divisions, Brothers Ingredients, Dennick Fruit Source, Hosh International and Food Partners, are trusted global importers of premium ingredients to major food and beverage manufacturers in North America. We deliver consistent quality and supply across every format the industry demands. Our Apricot is sourced from the earth’s prime growing regions where farming expertise, climate and soil composition come together to produce Apricot of exceptional caliber. All of our suppliers undergo a rigorous vetting process to ensure we work with only the highest-quality processors and can fully guarantee traceability, sustainability, and compliance with all international regulations.
Each of our divisions has a specialized operations team to manage shipments and coordinate with customers and suppliers. They work closely with our in-house customs team to ensure efficient clearance, and collaborate with the USDA and FDA to maintain full regulatory compliance. This ensures your ingredients move seamlessly through every stage of import, arriving on time and ready for production with complete confidence. With decades of sourcing expertise and a strong commitment to customer success, you can count on Brothers International to deliver the premium ingredients your products require.
Industry Glossary
A Reference Guide for Fruit Ingredient Terminology
Check out our glossary for a consolidated reference of commonly used terminology across the global fruit ingredient industry. It provides straightforward definitions and context for the language and concepts referenced throughout the industry.
