Gala overtakes Red Delicious as top apple in US

The Red Delicious apple, an easy-to-transport variety that dominated grocery selection for decades, is no longer the most popular variety in the US as the rise of the Gala apple and other fresh fruits signal changing consumer tastes and greater diversity in diets.

In 2018, US growers will produce 52.4-million boxes of Gala apples, up 5.8% from 2017, and 51.7-million of Red Delicious, down 11%, the US Apple Association said in a statement.

Red Delicious has been the nation’s top apple for at least five decades, the group said.

Granny Smith will edge out Fuji for third place, with each having about half the production of Red Delicious.

The Honeycrisp apple is expected to surpass the Golden Delicious variety to enter the top five for the first time in 2018.

Apples are increasingly consumed fresh and consumers are seeking out more and sweeter-tasting varieties, the association said.

“The rise in production of newer varieties of apples aimed at the fresh consumption market has caused demand for Red Delicious to decline,” Mark Seetin, the association’s regulatory director, said.

Red Delicious will still account for about half of US apple exports, Seetin said.

“Gala, which originated in New Zealand in the 1930s, has increased in popularity because consumers like its taste, texture and sweetness,” the association said.

In 2020, Honeycrisp could be in third place at current growth rates, according to the association.

Evolving trends in apples reflect changing consumer values, Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst at the NPD Group, told the association at its annual conference in Chicago on Monday.

Buyers are moving towards healthier foods, which bodes well for apples, but those fruits may not be the traditionally popular varieties, he said.

“Today’s health trend for consumers is proving that you’re authentic and wholesome,” Seifer said.

“It’s more about individualism. Brands must find a way to appeal to that individualism.”

China is the world’s biggest apple producer, followed by the US, Poland, Italy and France, according to the association.

The largest state growers in the US are Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and California, the industry group says.

/Reuters Core market: While Red Delicious has been the top-selling apple in the US for five decades, new tastes have pushed Gala to the top spot, with Granny Smith in third place.