Okanagan Specialty Fruits transformed a simple question into a billion-dollar agricultural innovation story by asking what would happen if apples didn’t turn brown. Founded in 1996 by Neal and Louisa Carter in Summerland, British Columbia, this homegrown company spent nearly two decades developing the Arctic Apple, the first genetically engineered apple approved for commercial sale in North America. The breakthrough? A non-browning apple that uses gene silencing technology to prevent oxidation, keeping sliced apples fresh and appealing for days without chemical treatments.
The company’s journey from a small Okanagan orchard to global recognition didn’t follow the typical …