Fresh Trends: Apples remain a top pick for fruit shoppers

The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey, indicated that 58% of consumers purchased fresh apples in the past year, compared with 55% in Fresh Trends 2022 and 63% in Fresh Trends 2021.

Consumers with higher income levels were the most frequent consumers of apples, according to Fresh Trends 2023, with 67% of consumers earning over $100,000 per year indicating fresh apple purchases in the previous 12 months, compared with 61% in that bracket in Fresh Trends 2022 and 69% in that bracket in Fresh Trends 2021.

Fifty percent of consumers making under $25,000 annually said they purchased apples in the past year, compared with 44% in that bracket in Fresh Trends 2022 and 47% in that income group in Fresh Trends 2021.

In Fresh Trends 2023, 59% of men said they purchased fresh apples in the previous 12 months, compared with 58% for women. In Fresh Trends 2022, just 48% of men indicated apple purchases, compared with 60% for women. In Fresh Trends 2021, 60% of men and 65% of women said they purchased apples in the past year.

For Fresh Trends 2023, 56% of families with kids at home said they purchased apples in the past year, compared with 60% of families with no kids at home. In Fresh Trends 2022, 53% of families with kids at home and 56% of families with no kids at home said they bought apples. In Fresh Trends 2021, 57% of families with kids at home and 66% of families with no kids at home said they purchased apples.

Consumers in the Midwest were the most frequent purchasers of apples, according to Fresh Trends 2023. Sixty-five percent of consumers in the Midwest said they bought apples, compared with 58% of consumers in the West, 57% of consumers in the South and 53% of consumers in the Northeast.

Older consumers were the most frequent consumers of apples, according to Fresh Trends 2023. Sixty-four percent of consumers aged 60 and older said they were apple buyers, compared with 60% of consumers aged 50-59 years old, 58% of consumers aged 40-49 years old, 57% of consumers aged 30-39 years old and 50% of consumers from 18-29 years old.

By ethnicity and race, Fresh Trends 2023 indicated that 61% of white/ Caucasian consumers said they purchased apples, compared with 44% of Black/African American shoppers, 62% of Hispanic buyers and 58% of Asian consumers.

Pricing

The USDA reported the average (all origins, all varieties) fob price for apples in 2022 was $30.34 per carton, up from $29.47 per carton in 2021.

The average retail advertised price for apples in 2022 was $1.51 per pound, up from $1.33 per pound in 2021, according to USDA numbers.