With a smaller crop of Honeycrisp for the 2024-25 apple season, marketers say this is an ideal opportunity for retailers to amplify other premium varieties. A down year for Honeycrisp isn't a new development, as the variety tends to biennial bear, they explain.
The Honeycrisp crop in Washington state is down about 26% this year, contributing to a smaller crop this year. Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers, said that while the overall apple crop is down, it's still a great crop with ample opportunities for promotions.
“Even though we don't have the record crop like last year, this is still a very promotable apple crop, and we need to continue to keep promotions and point of sale activity high on the list for apples so we can continue to increase category performance,” she said.
Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Superfresh Growers, said her team's message with retailers echoes the conversation in 2022 when there was a smaller Honeycrisp crop.
“When that happened, we encouraged retailers to replace Honeycrisp ads with Cosmic Crisp, which created a really nice trend,” she said.
Shales said Honeycrisp's position as a sales leader can help retailers price the smaller Honeycrisp crop appropriately.
“We've also been communicating some of the growth that Honeycrisp continues to experience in the category to help create change in promotions as we go forward,” she said. “It's difficult not to promote the top-selling apple, but using last year's model for promotion frequency and retail pricing isn't what's going to fit for this crop year.”
Joel Hewitt, vice president of sales with CMI Orchards, said marketers can help retailers spotlight the industry's other premium apple varieties. He said retailers must also help protect growers' margins with higher dollars from Honeycrisp without discounts that can deflate the entire category.
“This is a unique opportunity to showcase premium alternatives,” Hewitt said. “Retailers understand the tighter supply and have been encouraged to pivot their strategies accordingly. The priority is to drive trial of high-flavor branded varieties that are abundant, rather than focusing on discounting Honeycrisp. Maintaining premium pricing aligns with consumers' willingness to pay for quality and preserves the market integrity for all apple varieties.”
Varieties to showcase
Shales said Honeycrisp will remain in the mix as it's a consumer favorite and a top-selling variety. A smaller Honeycrisp crop means retailers can elevate other varieties, such as Pink Lady and Comic Crisp. Fuji and gala also allow retailers to promote typical ad prices below Honeycrisp's.
“For Pink Lady, we had phenomenal growing conditions which led to great color, quality, size and flavor that set the variety up to delight consumers with excellent taste,” she said.
Hewitt said CMI's other premium varieties include Ambrosia Gold, Juci and EverCrisp. Ambrosia Gold offers honey-sweet tasting notes and low acidity, making it ideal for snacking or baking; Juici, like its parent Honeycrisp, offers a tangy-sweet juiciness and refreshing texture, making it a comparable alternative to Honeycrisp; and EverCrisp outperforms fuji in sweetness and a “next-level” eating experience, Hewitt said.
“We're always advocating for the right apple to go on the right shelf–after all, retailers know their consumers best, and we pride ourselves on having something for every shopper, ensuring that our retail partners are well-stocked throughout the year,” he said.
Gipe-Stewart said another promising premium apple is Autumn Glory, which offers a sweet and crisp taste with notes of cinnamon and caramel. She said Domex has worked with retailers to boost premium sales of Autumn Glory and has seen an increase in sales with Generation Z and millenial consumers, which she said is remarkable considering apple sales continue to plateau.
“We found that consumers aged 18-29 have increased by 1% and [shoppers aged] 30-39 have increased by 2% from last year,” she said. “While that doesn't sound like huge numbers, apples haven't increased at all, so that was exciting to see that Autumn Glory is getting new consumers in those age groups.”
Gipe-Stewart attributes the success of Autumn Glory to social media marketing, influencer marketing, ads on Spotify and Hulu and working with retailers to boost Autumn Glory's profile.
“Gen Z and millennials really like bold flavors and something different, something unique, something that wows their friends,” she said. “Autumn Glory's cinnamon and caramel notes are part of that [appeal]. We've been having nice amplification with some nationwide retailers. It's a really good apple for multiple nationwide retailers and regionals as well.”
Cosmic Crisp — another Honeycrisp cross — offers a crisp crunch, excellent eating qualities, storability and balanced sweet-to-tart flavor, Shales said.
“The volume we have in the crop will help it be a top apple in the category, so this is the year to get behind it,” she said.
Organics as a category is in tighter supply this year. Still, Shales said there is a larger organic Cosmic Crisp crop this year, which needs development since it is a newer apple in the organic category.
Gipe-Steward said Domex pulled Nielsen data to help track the sales of Cosmic Crisp compared to Honeycrisp. In October, Cosmic Crisp was the No. 5 apple in the country and now sits at No. 7 in total dollars.
“It's 5% of the category, up 20% in dollars and 36% in volume,” she said, noting Honeycrisp is 30% of total dollars. “It's a 12-month apple, and it was just released in 2019, so it's pretty impressive that it's gotten to that point so fast.”
Gipe-Stewart also said Domex analyzed nationwide retailer data to understand the consumer profile for both Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp consumers. The consumers who buy Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp are similar.
“They're willing to spend a little bit more on apples, so the price point doesn't matter as much on those two varieties,” she said. "[Both Honeycrisp and Cosmic Crisp purchasers come from] higher-income households at $150,000 or more annually, and they're both women aged 45 to 74 and then largely over-indexed in the Caucasian group.”
Gipe-Stewart said the data shows ample opportunity to grow in African American and Hispanic populations to help bring in more Cosmic Crisp and Honeycrisp consumers.
Display tips
Danelle Huber, senior marketing manager for CMI, said eye-catching displays will help amplify these premium varieties in store. Huber said using CMI's Flavogram program or “Like This, Love That” campaign can help consumers discover these newer varieties.
Shales said multivariety promotions can help lift several varieties. Retailers should also consider seasonal display contests and bagged varieties to encourage consumers to buy premium varieties such as Pink Lady and Cosmic Crisp.
“Remember the four P's of marketing: placement, product, promotion and pricing,” she said.
Gipe-Stewart said the upcoming New Year's healthy eating focus and promoting Pink Lady apples for Valentine's Day can also help to keep the focus on premium varieties.
Bottom line
Gipe-Stewart said the volume growth Cosmic Crisp has experienced in its short time in retail helps provide retailers with that 12-month apple with a similar eating experience. And while Honeycrisp movement has been good, she said the industry recognizes the need to maintain the existing volume until next harvest.
"I think what everyone is just really hoping is that the movement isn't too good because we still have to stretch [the existing volume] the whole time," she said. "We just need to make sure we do have other nice, premium apples that can help us with apple consumption and capture that premium apple shopper."
Huber said while Honeycrisp may dominate the apple category, this is a good opportunity for retailers to diversify demand.
"Honeycrisp's rise to prominence didn't happen overnight; it was built on consistent exposure and consumer trust, and by giving premium varieties the visibility they deserve now, retailers set the stage for similar success stories in the future," Huber said. "Diversification not only strengthens the category, but also provides long-term growth opportunities, ensuring the apple aisle remains vibrant and competitive for years to come."
Gipe-Stewart said the eating quality of Cosmic Crisp is fantastic, adding that the Domex team sampled controlled atmosphere-stored Cosmic Crisp apples with New York chefs who raved about the quality in September.
"They thought it was the best apple they've ever had in their entire lives, and they'd had it before, and they were like, 'Oh, my gosh. I love this,'" she said. "We're super excited. With the new crop, I feel like it's just magic right now. We're onto something here."