Editor's note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2024, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 41 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Apple purchases are up according to responses in The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2024 survey. Just over 78% of consumers reported purchasing apples in the last 12 months, up from 58% in the 2023 survey, 55% in 2022 and 63% in 2021.
As in previous years, consumers with the highest income levels were the most frequent buyers of apples, with 88% of those earning more than $100,000 annually indicating fresh apple purchases in the previous 12 months. That’s up from 67% in the 2023 survey, 61% in 2022 and 69% in 2021.
At 66.3%, the percentage of consumers making less than $25,000 a year who reported purchasing apples in the past 12 months was higher than the 50% giving that response in Fresh Trends 2023, compared to 44% in the 2022 survey and 47% in 2021.
For Fresh Trends 2024, 23.3% of consumers said they increased their apple purchases because of inflation.
Honeycrisp (42.7%) was the apple variety most consumers reported purchasing, followed by fuji (41.3%), gala (39.6%) and granny smith (33.9%).
Consumers in the West purchased apples most frequently, according to Fresh Trends 2024, at more than 80%. Shoppers in the Northeast follow at 79%, with the Midwest at 78.2% and South at 76.4%.
The most frequent buyers of apples include those aged 40-49 at 81.8%, followed by those aged 30-39 at 81.4%. Nearly 80% of consumers aged 50-59 indicated buying apples in the last 12 months, while 77.8% of those aged 18-29 and 71.6% of those aged 60 or older also added apples to their shopping carts. This is a change from the Fresh Trends 2023 survey, which showed older adults were more likely to purchase apples.
Apples remain wildly popular as 84.7% of Fresh Trends 2024 respondents indicated choosing apples as a snack, up from 81% in Fresh Trends 2023.