WENATCHEE, WA - CMI is about 60 days into this season’s apple crop, and reports that Nielsen data is showing a shift in consumer apple demand.
One thing that has been noted, according to a press release, is that the Ambrosia variety had one of the largest sales increases in the category, selling at roughly $2.40 per pound, one of the higher retail prices for September of any apple.
“Of the apples that sold over $2.00 per pound, 14 out of 15 had increased dollars for the period. Of the apples that sold at $1.50 per pound or lower, only four had increased sales,” Don Patella, Regional Marketing Director for CMI, said, noting that Nielsen data reflects that the McIntosh saw a year over year sales slip of nearly 10% despite being one of the lower priced apple options.
“The Nielsen data continues to show that consumer purchase priorities are shifting in the apple category,” Steve Lutz, Vice President of Marketing, reported. “Consumers are changing which apples they buy and demonstrating they will pay a premium for the products they really like.”
A smaller Washington apple harvest is driving tighter supplies and higher prices, according to the company, resulting in slower sales on many traditional varieties.
“It is evident that discount pricing alone will not build a healthy category in the coming year,” Patella said. “The real opportunity this year is making sure stores have the right products and position on the shelf. More importantly, stores need to review shelf allocation to make sure they have the right amount of space dedicated to these hot emerging varieties.”
Nielsen data showed that pricing shifted at the retail level within the first few weeks of the season, reflecting that from the initial kickoff through September 26 the U.S.’s total apple sales declined by 2.6% while volume dropped by 3.9%. The report also noted that average retail pricing for the total U.S. moved up 1.4% to $1.54 per pound.
CMI suggests retailers focus on emerging varieties that are propelling the category whose double digit sales helped offset the category’s decline overall. Among those are Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Ambrosia™, Sweetango, and KIKU®, which CMI reports all posted strong sales increases over last year for the start-up period through September.
