WENATCHEE, WA – Apples have surely been making some moves in the produce department this spring. As retailers prepare for further sales opportunities through May and the start of summer, Stemilt Growers is offering some key insights on March’s performance with its Fruit Tracker™ Fast Facts video.

“The March data provides good insight to retailers as we near the summer months and focus shifts to seasonal fruits. As a year-round produce item, there are still opportunities to promote apples. Apple ads in the summer should focus on bulk and use bags as a sub feature. Intent marketing programs like Stemilt’s 3 lb. Lil Snappers® kid-sized fruits are great for driving sales, while larger 5 lb. pouches like our Apple Lover bags can also lift retail dollars,” said Brianna Shales, Communications Manager.

Apples boasted 6.3 percent of total produce dollars on average throughout the U.S. in March, according to a press release. Stemilt’s analysis of Nielsen retail scan data showed that the Central region was the only region to beat that average with 7.1 percent of produce volume coming from apples.

The category as a whole saw increased volume for apples when compared to last year, even though dollars were slightly down. Stemilt noted that this may have been due to a change in the bulk-to-bag ratio from the year prior, marking more bags sold in March of 2017 than 2016. As bulk commands higher retail prices, increased bag sales can lead to a decline in total numbers for the category.

Bulk apple volume fell 3.6 percent in March of 2017 compared to last year, but still made up for 58.8 percent of sales for the category. Bags made up the remaining 41.2 percent, according to Stemilt’s data.

“The season continues to extend for many club apple varieties, including that of our signature apple, Piñata®, which is now available through June. It’s hard to compare one year from the next when looking at club apples, and that’s important for retailers to remember. When it comes to club apples, there are key times to promote the top varieties and offering shoppers with variety will ultimately keep the apple category refreshed, and hopefully keep them buying apples,” said Shales.

Stemilt stated that its top performing varieties did not change between 2016 and 2017, though that may change moving forward as certain varieties wind down. Shales predicts that Pink Lady® will move up from its current position of sixth to overtake Honeycrisp in the top five as its supply lessens.

The leading apples for March, 2017 sales were as follows:

• Gala at 28.6 percent
• Fuji at 13.8 percent
• Red Delicious at 12.6 percent
• Granny Smith at 11.9 percent
• Honeycrisp at 10.4 percent

Stemilt found that retailers also sold more Envy apples in March 2017 than last year, but at a lower retail which was likely due to ad activity. Lady Alice, Jazz, and Piñata all saw retail price increases year-over-year of more than 3 percent. Stemilt’s signature variety, Piñata, had an average retail price per pound of $1.63 in March 2017.

March retail scan data also showed a slight uptick in the average retail price for all apples from February 2017. The average retail price per pound on apples moved up from $1.60 in February to $1.62.

Stemilt says that retailers looking for a refreshed apple section have no further to search than promotions with Pink Lady and Fuji apples.

“Pink Lady is a high sugar, high acid apple that has the unique feature of developing more complex flavors in storage,” said Shales. “The best is yet to come with this apple and Stemilt has a variety of promotional opportunities to highlight it at retail.”

The company noted that Pink Lady is the last variety to harvest each year out of Washington state. Stemilt finds that its quality in the spring and summer is second to none.

As the season moves onward, what other data will Stemilt unveil? AndNowUKnow will report.

Stemilt Growers