WENATCHEE, WA - Stemilt Growers’ fruit tracker program has released a new Stemilt-O-Graphic unveiling insights into the apple category at retail for January.

“Gala continues to be the leading apple variety in the category, but was down 1.6% in volume sales from last year,” Stemilt’s Marketing Director, Roger Pepperl, said, according to a press release. “Red Delicious was flat and Fuji and Granny Smith were each up 1% from last year. Honeycrisp rounded out the top five apples at 8.7% of the category, down nearly 2% from 2015.”

Scan data from Nielsen Fresh Facts® showed Pink Lady® brand apples on the rise, according to the release, showing a 0.6% increase from 2015, 4.1% of the total apple category.

Other brand apples looked to gain attention during the month as well, it seems, with Opal® apples retailing for 7.8% more than last year and Pacific Rose® volumes having more than doubled from sales in 2015.

As for the company’s signature apple variety, Piñata®, Stemilt noted that heavy promotions across the nation in January helped to move more volume than the previous year.

“With tight supplies on bulk apples this year and most varieties down in size, bags provide a nice promotion vehicle,” Roger said. “Retailers can build on the momentum of trademarked apples like Pink Lady® and Piñata® with springtime promotions on 3lb. Lil Snappesr® or 5lb. pouch bags. This drives up the purchase size and helps boost volume sales to the category.”

Overall apple prices continued to rise for retail in January, with bulk apples selling for $0.05 more than they did in December of 2015.

The percentage of apples sold in bags boosted due to smaller fruit size according to the Stemilt-O-Graphic, making up 39.1% of category volume in January  2016, while bulk apples made up 60.9%.

What’s in store for apples at retail as we head into spring? Keep checking in with AndNowUKnow as we continue to follow all influential categories in the produce industry.

Stemilt