TikTok’s Apple Queen

Depending on your algorithm, scrolling through TikTok or Instagram Reels will probably deliver lots of food recipe videos, travel highlight videos, funny memes, or makeup tutorials. But some users, adrift in that vast sea of content, will be lucky enough to get to see 30-second snippets of life on an apple orchard in Tonasket, Wash.

Meet Kait Thornton, who, in addition to being a fourth-generation farmer, is what you would call a big deal online. She has hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok (@apple. girl.kait) and Instagram (@applegirlkait), where she shares videos documenting her life. In some videos, she explains how apples get irrigated, or why some have blemishes on the skin, or how pollinators make their orchards come to life. In other videos, she gives updates on her classic pickup truck named Blueberry or uses trending audio for a “day in the life” post. There are no TikTok dances or thirst traps — just educational, entertaining glimpses into life on the farm and her audience loves it.

“You want people to feel like they’re really coming along with you,” Kait told Washington Grown host Tomás Guzmán when the show visited Tonasket in Season 11. “You kinda just carry them along as you go about your day.”

As much as Thornton may be known for her internet presence, her first love is the farm. She grew up surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the 400-acre orchard and has been involved in the operation of the farm since she was young. But her career as an “agriculture influencer” kicked off in earnest when she had just reached high school, and her dad made a bet with her.

“I wanted to make some side money, and we had some apricot trees,” she said. “My dad said, ‘If you sell 20 boxes of apricots, I’ll be impressed.’ I sold 44 boxes that year. Within a few years, my senior year, I sold over 1,200 boxes of fruit.”

Her secret weapon in selling fruit came down to three specific strengths — her passion for farming, her knowledge of the product, and her bubbly personality. In her work on social media, Kait has struck a winning combination using a similar formula: her viewers get entertainment, education, and a chance to feel like part of the Thornton family.

“The new apple called SugarBee is one of our top varieties,” she told Guzmán in one such example. “One thing I’ve made videos about is how to check for what we call ‘fruit finish’ on a SugarBee apple. Once it’s polished, rub the apple along your lip and feel how smooth it is.”

She paused as Guzmán brought the apple to his lips, then chuckled. “I’ve done the same thing with my pickup after I wax it.”

Before the show wrapped up shooting at Thornton Farms, Guzmán asked Thornton to teach him the secret to posting on TikTok. She held out her phone and pressed record as the two leaned together and started bantering about the SugarBee apples.

“Let’s show them a little crunch action,” Thornton said as they both bit into the apples in their hands. She put away her phone and then turned to Guzmán, laughing. “You just got a free TikTok promo! Don’t worry, I’ll bill you!”