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Nielsen data shows summer apple demand growing

Apples - Final

PRESS RELEASE Yakima, WA- As summer months roll on by, apple demand has stayed strong, showing that apples continue to be a summer staple in the United States.

With more people eating from home, and traveling less Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji continue to have their place on the American dining table. Looking at Nielsen data of the four weeks ending August 8, apples are up 4 percent in dollars, and 5 percent in volume.

Honeycrisp demand is outstanding, up 44 percent in volume and up 35 percent in dollars. Granny Smith has also stayed strong this summer, with volume up 12 percent. As new crop Gala, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith apples enter the market in August and September, these upward trends should remain strong and maybe even lead to record-breaking sales.

Pear demand has dipped to 2 percent growth in dollars and flat in volume. Despite the category dipping, Bartlett pears have held their own, up 19 percent in dollars and 14 percent in volume.

This bodes well for the NW crop that began harvest in early August. Asian pears are also doing well, up 34 percent in dollars, and 30 percent in volume. Superfresh BB #:113721 Asian pear harvest will start in early September and we will have a nice promotable crop.

Organic apples are like a freight train that continue to build momentum this summer, with increased growth month over month. In these last four months ending August 8, organic apples were up 28 percent in dollars and 26 percent in volume.

Organic dollar share represents an outstanding 15 percent of the category, which we saw in the 4 weeks prior to these, but before that, had hovered closer to 10 percent. Organic pears, however, took a plummet these last four weeks, down -42 percent in both dollars and volume. This was likely due to a gap in supply with less imports this year. As we write this, a strong NW pear crop is already underway, and we should be seeing a strong uptick with the next round of data.

Packaged apples and pears is another trend that has stayed strong during COVID-19. 44 percent of apple volume was packaged, up from a pre-COVID average of ~40 percent. 25 percent of pear volume was packaged, up from the pre-COVID average of 18-20 percent. Bags and other consumer packages are popular for “stocking up,” value, perceived safety, and “grab-and-go” convenience.

Gala apples had the most volume on promotion, 7.8 MM lbs, which represented 18 percent of overall Gala sales ($9.1 MM). Bartlett pears led with 20 percent on promo, representing $1.4MM in promo dollars.

We have multiple labor saving display options including floor bins and display-ready cartons to make work easier on produce department and supply chain operations staff. These options all display on a pallet, and are shipped display-ready. We will have newly designed packaging for our Superfresh Organics program as well, especially in our 4lb bag program.

Apple and pear harvest is underway with organic and conventional Honeycrisp apples, Gala apples and Bartlett pears. In early September we will begin picking organic and conventional Bosc pears, Anjou pears, Granny Smith apples, and Fuji apples.

We are here to support retailers and foodservice during COVID-19, and to continue to supply safe, fresh, and nutritious Northwest fruit.

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PRESS RELEASE Yakima, WA- As summer months roll on by, apple demand has stayed strong, showing that apples continue to be a summer staple in the United States.

With more people eating from home, and traveling less Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji continue to have their place on the American dining table. Looking at Nielsen data of the four weeks ending August 8, apples are up 4 percent in dollars, and 5 percent in volume.

Honeycrisp demand is outstanding, up 44 percent in volume and up 35 percent in dollars. Granny Smith has also stayed strong this summer, with volume up 12 percent. As new crop Gala, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith apples enter the market in August and September, these upward trends should remain strong and maybe even lead to record-breaking sales.

Pear demand has dipped to 2 percent growth in dollars and flat in volume. Despite the category dipping, Bartlett pears have held their own, up 19 percent in dollars and 14 percent in volume.

This bodes well for the NW crop that began harvest in early August. Asian pears are also doing well, up 34 percent in dollars, and 30 percent in volume. Superfresh BB #:113721 Asian pear harvest will start in early September and we will have a nice promotable crop.

Organic apples are like a freight train that continue to build momentum this summer, with increased growth month over month. In these last four months ending August 8, organic apples were up 28 percent in dollars and 26 percent in volume.

Organic dollar share represents an outstanding 15 percent of the category, which we saw in the 4 weeks prior to these, but before that, had hovered closer to 10 percent. Organic pears, however, took a plummet these last four weeks, down -42 percent in both dollars and volume. This was likely due to a gap in supply with less imports this year. As we write this, a strong NW pear crop is already underway, and we should be seeing a strong uptick with the next round of data.

Packaged apples and pears is another trend that has stayed strong during COVID-19. 44 percent of apple volume was packaged, up from a pre-COVID average of ~40 percent. 25 percent of pear volume was packaged, up from the pre-COVID average of 18-20 percent. Bags and other consumer packages are popular for “stocking up,” value, perceived safety, and “grab-and-go” convenience.

Gala apples had the most volume on promotion, 7.8 MM lbs, which represented 18 percent of overall Gala sales ($9.1 MM). Bartlett pears led with 20 percent on promo, representing $1.4MM in promo dollars.

We have multiple labor saving display options including floor bins and display-ready cartons to make work easier on produce department and supply chain operations staff. These options all display on a pallet, and are shipped display-ready. We will have newly designed packaging for our Superfresh Organics program as well, especially in our 4lb bag program.

Apple and pear harvest is underway with organic and conventional Honeycrisp apples, Gala apples and Bartlett pears. In early September we will begin picking organic and conventional Bosc pears, Anjou pears, Granny Smith apples, and Fuji apples.

We are here to support retailers and foodservice during COVID-19, and to continue to supply safe, fresh, and nutritious Northwest fruit.

Twitter