Cash-strapped UK consumers bought fewer apples and pears last year, causing a decline of 1.1 per cent in value and 2.9 per cent in volume in the top-fruit market.
In total, some 648,000 tonnes of top fruit were sold last year, and the market is currently valued at £934.7 million.
The latest research from Kantar Worldpanel shows that in 2010 top fruit was purchased by households every 13.5 days, but last year the figure fell to 14 days.
Morrisons was the only Big Four retailer to experience growth ahead of the market average, defending its overtrade.
The hard discounters achieved 12 per cent value growth in 2011 and joined the Co-operative as the only stores to drive a positive change in frequency of purchase.
In terms of consumption, apples are still a key feature in the lunchbox, whereas pears are more likely to be consumed as a snack in the home.
Adrian Barlow, CEO of English Apples & Pears, thinks the decline in value is down to fierce competition. “As far as prices are concerned, there has been an enormous amount of pressure on prices. There are a lot of consumers out there who are under a lot of pressure and people are also competing for market share, so it’s not surprising,” he comments. “What we have noticed is that the top and value sections of the market are both doing well. The middle segment is not doing so well - it seems a lot of consumers have switched to value packs.”
In terms of the UK market, Barlow notes that production of English dessert apples is up by 10.1 per cent in the last year. “This reflects the planting we’ve seen in the last few years of young highly productive orchards. There’s been a switch from Cox, which used to represent 65 per cent of total production, to relatively new varieties like Gala and Braeburn, which have both had record crops, and very new varieties, like Jazz, Kanzi, Rubens, Cameo and Zari,” he says.
As for sales, Barlow was pleased to see that selling started earlier than usual last year. “We started selling on 20 July, two weeks earlier than normal, and sales of Braeburn actually started more than four weeks early.”
The season started earlier than previous years despite some concerns like frost at the beginning of May 2011, which saw one or two orchards completely wiped out. There were also drought conditions in May and June, particularly the South East was badly affected.
Bramley sales, however, are down by 7.5 per cent, according to Barlow, who says an abnormally warm autumn and a large garden crop are to blame. “People haven’t been using them in traditional recipes like hot Bramley apple pie, which they would have done in colder weather.”
English pear sales are up by 6.5 per cent, he reports. “Overall we are very pleased with the speed of sales but concerned about returns, so we need to see an increase in the second half of the season.”
Going forward, Barlow expects prices to go up in the new year. “We have a real momentum in English apples right now. Many retailers will be keen to see good returns to suppliers.”
Mark Culley, managing director of Orchard World, would like to address the decline in the top fruit market with a big generic apple campaign to drive consumption, but doesn’t think the solution lies in an increase of varieties. “New varieties don’t create an increase in consumption, they simply divert consumers from one variety to another,” he says.
While he describes sales and stocks as “reasonably in line with expectations” he admits they could be better. “I’d like to see all UK supermarkets fully supporting English apples.”
Culley wishes all supermarkets would take their lead from Sainsbury’s. “They are selling 27 per cent of the English apple crop on a 17 per cent market share because they’re committed to the UK apple industry. It’s not my place to name and shame other chains but they know who they are and they could do better.” -
USAEC RESEARCH PROVIDES STRATEGIC PLATFORM
New research could give US apple suppliers vital consumer information to share with importers and supermarkets
The United States Apple Export Council (USAEC) has invested in YouGov research to give its shippers and growers a more informed platform from which to enhance their relationship with UK customers.
The survey, carried out in the middle of 2011, was commissioned by the USAEC to analyse consumer purchasing and usage habits, as well as their attitudes to different varieties, sources and prices.
Iain Forbes of The Garden, the UK and European representative of the USAEC, says the research, which has been made available to all USAEC shippers, can be used to broaden the knowledge base along the supply chain. “A wealth of new data has come out of this research and by drilling down into the figures, we have access to the type of consumer insight that can and will influence our approach to the UK market this year and in seasons to come,” he says.
“Among other things, for example, our members can now tell their customers how often 35-44 year olds purchase apples, where and why they purchase them, and they can tell growers which apples the UK market is looking for and prefers and how consumers use them.”
On a generic level, the YouGov poll revealed that almost half (47 per cent) of people purchase fresh apples at least once a week, and most (87 per cent) of those who purchase apples mainly buy them from a supermarket. Colour preference is fairly evenly split between red (20 per cent), green (24 per cent) and red and green (26 per cent). But interestingly, ‘juicy’ (66 per cent) and ‘crisp texture’ (64 per cent) are the most sought after eating qualities and more people associate red with a sweet taste than any other colour (42 per cent), whereas green was most commonly associated with crisp (53 per cent).
Only two fifths (43 per cent) of people say that price influences their decision to purchase a particular type of apple and 13 per cent claim never to look at the price. However, cost of purchase (32 per cent said ‘lower price’) and convenience (51 per cent) were two of the main drivers for buying pre-packed apples over loose.
People do have a clear idea of what they expect to spend on apples. Almost half of people (48 per cent) plan to spend between £1 and £1.99 on apples per shopping trip, and 18 per cent are looking to spend between £2 and £2.99, at the premium end of the market, with another four per cent looking to spend over £3.
Variety-wise, year-round availability plays its part, with Braeburn and Pink Lady (both 15 per cent) the favourite apple varieties, while Granny Smith (14 per cent) came in third.
Looking at the USAEC mainstays in the UK, both Empire and McIntosh polled one per cent in the ‘favourite apple variety’ question, which is roughly consistent with their share of the market. An encouraging 28 per cent of the consumers surveyed have eaten or were aware of Empire, and although just seven per cent of all respondents who purchase apples correctly said Empire is grown in the US, that rose to 11 per cent for people who were aware of the variety’s existence. One fifth of consumers who were aware of McIntosh knew that McIntosh was a US grown apple, however.
The sweet, crisp and juicy character profile of the Empire fits nicely with the consumer expectation for a red apple, according to this survey. When people eat red apples - 42 per cent expect them to be sweet, 22 per cent crisp, and 30 per cent juicy. Just five per cent bite into a red apple expecting a tangy sensation and 14 per cent believe red apples are going to be dry.
Forbes says: “Now perhaps more than ever, this type of information can be used as a strategic tool working alongside supermarket customers who we need to be looking at the full long-term picture for each variety in the USAEC membership’s portfolio, rather than basing decisions purely on last year’s figures.” -
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