Posts Tagged “U.S. apple crop”
Apples sold at retail increased only slightly and sales were down, despite a record U.S. apple crop in 2014-15.
That indicates that while consumer preferences are shifting, it’s not translating into increases in total consumption, according to Nielsen data cited in a news release from Wenatchee, Wash.-based Columbia Marketing International.
From Sept. 1, 2014, to Aug. 28,2015, retail apple volume sales climbed 1.9 percent, according to Nielsen. The average retail price fell 3.9 percent, pulling overall sales down 2 percent.
The Nielsen report covers about 19,000 supermarkets and 67% of U.S. supermarket sales.
Honeycrisp sales continued to rise in 2014-15. The average retail price of the variety jumped 25 percent. The average price of red delicious, however, fell 15 percent.
Gala, Honeycrisp, fuji, red delicious and granny smith accounted for 75 percent of all sales in 2014-15.
The average price of Ambrosia apples climbed 47 percent in 2014-15, the strongest performance of any variety, according to CMI. Ambrosias vaulted into the varietal top-10 last season, replacing braeburns.
Category growth is being driven by consumers shifting to premium varietals, Katharine Grove, marketing specialist at CMI, said in the release.
“Every retailer should take note that despite a record crop and cheap prices last year, category sales actually declined,” Grove said in the release. “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.”