It is Time to Promote Organic Apples

With a lighter crop for the 2022-2023 season, there is no doubt that some varieties of organic apples will not have much volume, but there are now good supplies of many varieties, with late winter and spring being touted as the perfect time for retail promotions.

“For the 2022-2023 crop, the apple industry saw a significant decrease in volume over last season,” said Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing for Sage Fruit Company located in Yakima, WA. “With the industry as a whole being down, it will still be a challenge to carry organic items for the entire year. We will unfortunately not carry all organic varieties until new crop apples [arrive].”

Chuck Sinks, President of Sales and Marketing, Sage Fruit Company

With the addition of Chelan Fruit to its manifest, Sage Fruit is experiencing an overall increase in its organic apple volume. The two companies announced a partnership in September of last year that has Chelan joining the Sage Fruit family of growers, packers, and shippers.

Volume on some varieties will not stretch through the summer, Sinks said, but there are still very good options for the buyer community.

“With the industry as a whole being down, it will still be a challenge to carry organic items for the entire year. We will unfortunately not carry all organic varieties until new crop apples [arrive].” - Chuck Sinks

“Our most sought out organic item by retailers is organic Honeycrisp, but organic Gala and Fuji don’t fall too far behind,” he said. “Organic Honeycrisp is a high-end consumer favorite, which has an excellent ring at the register. On the opposite side of that, though, organic Gala and Fuji are excellent options for the everyday, organic consumer because they are more price friendly.”

Sage Organics apple display

Organic Cosmic Crisp is one variety of which there will be excellent promotional opportunities over the next several months, Sinks said. On the other hand, traditional organic apple varieties—Granny Smith, Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady—will be stretched tight this season due to the short crop. Because of the reduced volume, the veteran apple marketer said “organic demand this season has remained high and prices strong. Like their conventionally grown counterparts, a lot of the reason is due to the reduction in availability of the overall crop rather than due to inflation.”

Brianna Shales, marketing director for Stemilt Growers in Wenatchee, WA, agreed that the shorter apple crop has created some imbalances in supply and demand for organics. “However, there are many core varieties (Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp, etc.) that are year-round items for organics, so our intent is to have continuous supply as long as quality out of storage remains good,” she said.

Brianna Shales, Marketing Director, Stemilt Growers

“We actually have increased the window on organic Cosmic Crisp now that we have a bigger crop of organics as more acreage has completed the transition” Shales said. “It will go into the spring months (March/April) compared to late winter (February) last year.”

The organic Fuji crop is also promotable through the spring as Stemilt has greater volume of that variety. “There are also opportunities on different sizes/grades of organic apples, mostly larger-sized bulk fruit,” she said. “Bags continue to be in high demand for organics.”

Stemilt organic honeycrisp apples

Both inflation and the smaller apple crop are pushing organic apple prices up and consumption down, Shales said. “According to Nielsen scan data, the organic apple retail price per pound is up to $2.84 on average in the US compared to $2.48 per pound last year,” she said. “This has caused organic apple sales to lag by 2.85 percent compared to last year; while volume is down significantly (15 percent).”

“Bags continue to be in high demand for organics.” - Brianna Shales

Catherine Gipe-Stewart, director of marketing for Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima, WA, also weighed in on the organic apple inventory situation going into the new year. “The January 1 WSTFA (Washington State Tree Fruit Association) storage report shows that the 2022 organic crop holdings are only down 2 percent from last year. Some varieties, such as organic Pink Lady and Honeycrisp are down 15 and 14 percent, respectively, while other varieties are up. Organic Gala is up 6 percent and organic Fuji is up 17 percent.”

Catherine Gipe-Stewart, Director of Marketing, Domex Superfresh Growers

This inconsistent inventory data has Gipe-Stewart noting that flexibility is key as retailers look at their merchandising opportunities. “We are grateful to our buyer partners on their willingness to be flexible to take advantage of what this year’s crop has given us,” she said. “We still have a good amount of volume for the 2022 crop, but it may be that a different variety or size is more promotable than had been in previous years.”

Two emerging varieties—Cosmic Crisp and Autumn Glory—do offer promotional opportunities. “Organic Cosmic Crisp is up 319 percent in volume for the industry,” Gipe-Stewart said. “Superfresh Growers represents 25 percent of the industry on Cosmic Crisp, and we are excited for the growth potential here.”

“We are grateful to our buyer partners on their willingness to be flexible to take advantage of what this year’s crop has given us.” - Catherine Gipe-Stewart

She added that Superfresh Growers plans to have promotional volume of organic Cosmic Crisp through May, organic Autumn Glory into spring, and organic Gala and Fuji into summer. Organic Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Honeycrisp are the three varieties that are showing lighter crops this year.

“Even with some varieties being down from last year, we are strategically planning on packing into the summer months,” Gipe-Stewart said. “While there may be some flexibility needed for size and variety, Superfresh Growers will still have a year-round supply of organic apples.”

Superfresh Growers organic honeycrisp apples

With regard to pricing, the Domex representative offered a Nielsen scan data chart for November, which she said explains the situation. “Organic retail is going up faster than conventional, and the volume is taking a bigger hit. Organic/conventional flex consumers are switching when the price goes past what they feel comfortable with,” she said. “However, there are plenty of heavy organic apple shoppers who are maintaining a strong 10 percent share of organics in the apple category.”