With a variety of apple flavors and textures at their fingertips, it's easy for consumers to be overwhelmed by choice at the supermarket. Organic versus conventional adds yet another choice, and more shoppers are choosing organic fruit.
Organic apples made up about 15.5% of total apple sales, and the category brought in more than $616.9 million in sales for 2020, according to IRI.
According to The Packer's 2022 Organic Fresh Trends report, more than one-third of shoppers (34%) said they picked up organic apples at least some of the time, and 11% sought out organics every time they bought the crisp fruit. The likelihood of purchase increased according to income among those who always chose organic. Age clearly plays a role in organic apple purchases.
Graphic: Farm Journal/Source iStock
When it came to shoppers who always bought organic apples, the likelihood of a purchase decreased according to age. In fact, shoppers age 18-29 were the most likely overall to always choose organic apples, while those age 60 and over were the least likely to always select organic.
Apples are grown and enjoyed throughout the country, but Western shoppers were more likely to buy organic fruit at least some of the time (40% did so in the past year) than those in other regions. Hispanic shoppers were more apt to always select organic apples; Asian and those who classified themselves as part of the “other” ethnic group were some of the least likely overall to buy organic apples.
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