Five years ago, when I asked people what their favorite apple was, chances are I’d hear a chorus of “Honeycrisp!” with a few gala, fuji, pink lady and maybe a Jazz here or there.
Everyone “in the know” was gushing about Honeycrisp and not balking at the high price they garnered at retail. I took a photo once of $4.99/pound Honeycrisp at the start of the season a few years back. Who would have thought an apple would bring $5 a pound?
But, even as I see scan data showing that Honeycrisp is strong through January, I’m wondering if America’s love for the Minnesota-born apple has peaked.
I’m not just going by anecdotal data, either.
I turned to my trusty Google Trends searches, and lo and behold, search velocity for “Honeycrisp” and “Honeycrisp Apple” is on a downward trend. Shock Top beer’s Honeycrisp flavor helped boost interest last year, but we’re still seeing those peaks not reach the heights they once did.
Before you get your pitchforks and run me out of town, does this mean I think Honeycrisp is on a downward trend at retail? Absolutely not. It’s a darling still, for sure.
Stemilt Growers released a new Fruit Tracker Fast Facts video showing 11.5% of apple sales in the U.S. in January were Honeycrisp, up 2.8% from the same time a year ago. Honeycrisp is around longer, in more plentiful supplies, for sure.
But the prices aren’t staying high. The average retail price of Honeycrisp was 55 cents per pound lower than a year ago, averaging $2.82 per pound in January, according to Stemilt’s Fruit Tracker.
But other darlings are starting to sneak in, too.
Club varieties are trending up. Jazz was up 14.5% in average retail in January on 13.4% less volume than in 2016. Pinata sold the same volume in 2016 despite a 2% increase in volume. Envy volume was up 33.8% with a 2.1% increase in volume.
Fruit for thought.
Pamela R.