2014 Apple crop wrap-up:
Retail data reveals shifting consumer preferences
Despite a record apple harvest last year, total apple volume sold at retail showed only a slight increase indicating that while consumer preferences are shifting it is not translating into increases in total apple consumption.
Nielsen data for the completed apple season from September 1, 2014 to August 28, 2015 shows that for the year, total apple volume sold at retail increased by 1.9%. A decline of 3.9% in the average retail price caused overall apple category dollars to drop for the year by -2.0%.
Nielsen data reports actual sales performance from approximately 19,000 supermarkets representing 67% of total U.S. supermarket sales.
Among the top five apples, Honeycrisp sales jumped by 25%, cementing its position as the #2 selling apple in the United States. Honeycrisp was the only apple in the top five varieties to generate a dollar performance increase for the year. Red Delicious appears to have suffered from shifting consumer tastes. Reds dropped from the #2 selling variety in 2013 to #4 during 2014, declining by 15.4% for the year. Overall, the top 5 apple varieties (Gala, Honeycrsip, Fuji, Red Delicious and Granny Smith) drove 75% of total category sales for the year.
Among all varieties in the top 10, Ambrosia™ showed the strongest dollar growth. Ambrosia™ sales jumped over 47% for the year, moving the apple into the top 10 selling varieties in the U.S. for the first time, displacing Braeburn. Ambrosia™ had the largest dollar growth rate of any apple in the top 10.
Despite the record crop, only three apple varieties in the top 10 generated year over year sales increases, all of which are premium varieties with an average retail over $2.00 per pound.
Industry experts see category growth being driven by consumers shifting from commodity apples to premium varietals. Katharine Grove, Marketing Specialist at CMI, highlights the big sales increases in Honeycrisp and Ambrosia™, plus other emerging brands driving the trend.
“Every retailer should take note that despite a record crop and cheap prices last year, category sales actually declined,” said Grove. “Retailers that identified the opportunity to maximize performance of Honeycrisp, Ambrosia™ and some of the key emerging branded apples like Kanzi® and KIKU® probably had a pretty good year while their competitors lost market share.”
“Premium packaged apples captured consumer attention and also drove retail growth,” said Grove.
“The Nielsen data shows that for the year, 2 lb premium pouch bags had the strongest growth rate of all of the major packaged apple segments.”
For more information:
Katharine Grove
Tel: 509-888-3427
Email: Katharineg@cmiapples.com
www.cmiapples.com