Apr 24, 2009

New York Apples Sell Well on East Coast

New York apple varieties – like McIntosh, Empire and Honeycrisp – ranked at the top of a survey of retail sales data in five Northeast and mid-Atlantic markets.

“With our high quality fruit and proximity, it’s no wonder our apples are delighting consumers in the major East Coast markets,”said Jim Allen, president of the New York Apple Association, which sponsored the survey.

The research was conducted through analysis of retail scan data between November 2006 and October 2008. Markets surveyed included New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Harrisburg/Scranton and Baltimore/Washington, D.C.

The McIntosh apple is the number one selling apple in Boston and ranked third in sales in metropolitan New York. Macs are the biggest variety grown in New York.

The McIntosh was far and away the biggest seller in Boston among more than 20 apple varieties surveyed, with 7.6 million pounds sold last year. That was up 3.2 percent over 2007 sales volume.

“The Mac is beloved in Beantown,”Allen said.

In New York City, McIntosh is challenging Red Delicious and the Granny Smith, which hold the number one and two spots, respectively. The Mac is in third place, but saw a 10.8 percent sales increase. Reds and Granny’s both declined.

“This survey shows that Macs are still a beloved apple in the Big Apple,”Allen said.

Meanwhile, Honeycrisp is the hottest apple variety in New York City, according to the scan data.

Honeycrisp saw a whopping 67 percent increase in sales volume in metro New York from 2007 to 2008.

“The Honeycrisp continues to skyrocket in popularity,”Allen said.

In the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. market, Honeycrisp saw even bigger gains. It had a 155 percent increase between 2007 and 2008.

The Empire apple variety was among the most consistent sales gainers in all five of the markets surveyed.

In New York the Empire gained 30.8 percent in sales between 2007 and 2008. In Baltimore, it gained 11.8 percent; Boston 16.3 percent; Scranton/Harrisburg 15.1 percent and in Philadelphia 22.8 percent.

Empires are the second biggest variety grown in New York. Because of innovative post harvest technology, Empire has strong crunch year round.

“The Empire is delighting consumers more than ever before,”Allen said.

New York ranks second in apple production nationwide, with more than 25 million bushels sold last year.