WENATCHEE, WA - The final results for the 2014 apple crop are in, and survey says… Consumer preferences are shifting from commodity apples to premium varietals.

According to Nielsen data provided by CMI, total apple volume sold at retail showed only a slight increase despite the record apple harvest last year. Only three apple varieties (Honeycrisp, Jazz Apples, and Ambrosia) 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.

Honeycrisp and branded apples in particular showed strong dollar and volume growth, but Katherine Grove, CMI’s Marketing Specialist, explained that category sales have actually declined.

“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,” she said.

For the completed apple season from September 1, 2014 to August 28, 2015, Nielsen data shows that total apple volume sold at retail increased by 1.9 percent. A decline of 3.9 percent in the average retail price caused overall apple category dollars to drop for the year by -2.0 percent, according to a press release.

Among the top five apples, only Honeycrisp showed an increase in dollar performance for the year, jumping 25 percent. A shift in consumer preference may explain the decline in performance for Red Delicious.

This data includes actual sales performance from approximately 19,000 supermarkets representing 67 percent of total U.S. supermarket sales.

Grove added that 2 lb. premium pouch bags had the strongest growth rate of all of the major packaged apple segments.

Overall, the top 5 apple varieties (Gala, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Red Delicious, and Granny Smith) drove 75 percent of total category sales for the year.

CMI