WENATCHEE, WA - The crispy, delicious taste of a fresh apple is all the rage this year as shoppers are continuously filling their carts with bags of the colorful fruit. Stemilt recently revealed data that showed apple dollars increasing despite volume slightly down at the end of 2020, with the top four out of five apple varieties showing significant dollar gains.

“We are comparing a shorter apple crop to a record year, but retailers are making up for it by inching retail prices up, and that is going to help make up for less volume this year,” said Marketing Director Brianna Shales. “Honeycrisp was 30 percent of the category dollars and 22 percent of volume. Although not in the top five, Pink Lady^® apples are another variety that retailers need to promote.”

And to do so, retailers should run multi-variety ads including Pink Lady varieties to promote bulk, which is down seven percent in volume compared to packaged apples which are up eight percent, according to the press release. Organic bulk is down just over eight percent in volume, and packaged organic apples are up 15 percent. Due to the unexpected pandemic, consumer shopping habits changed, leaving many shoppers reaching for packaged bags full of delicious apples.

“Retailers have reacted well to the need for no-touch product, and bags continue to be in high demand,” Shales explained. “We’re seeing more people use tote bags to promote bulk, like our Farm + Famous paper tote bag, to promote larger sizes of core varieties.”

A combination of the no-touch packaging and multi-variety ads are the key to success in this category this year, and Shales suggests that retailers include the core varieties—Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and Honeycrisp—in their multi-variety ads, while also educating shoppers about other varieties as well, like the Cosmic Crisp^®. Only having been available for weeks, the data showed that this variety has wiggled its way into the mouths and hearts of shoppers, ranking 14^th for sales by variety across the U.S. and 9^th in the West region due to its increased volume.

“It’s not a lot of data to make a complete assessment, but it is interesting to see how quickly it climbed to the top 20. As we continue into 2021, we will be able to read more into the variety’s contribution to the category. In the meantime, retailers can increase apple promotion activities by utilizing multi-variety ads,” said Shales. “It’s a big apple world. So, make it simple for your shoppers by utilizing signage and other tools to explain the flavors and uses of each variety. Then, let our World Famous flavors delight them so they keep coming back for more.”

Clearly, there’s no reason to wait. Stock up on these delicious varieties and the ads that go with them, and watch apple dollars start pouring in. And keep checking with AndNowUKnow as we keep you updated on all things happening in the world of fresh produce.

Stemilt