WENATCHEE, WASH. — Honeycrisp and gala remain the fresh apple industry leaders, but Pink Lady and Cosmic Crisp are coming on strong, according to the latest Fast Facts report from Stemilt Growers.

Pink Lady sales are up 47% over the same period last year, and Cosmic Crisp is up 30%.

“I was super encouraged to see double digit growth across the country for Pink Lady volume and dollars during this time period,” said Brianna Shales, Stemilt’s marketing director. “I want to see more success like we are seeing in the south or northeast with Pink Lady. I’d like to see retailers use additional promotion for Valentine’s Day and throughout spring as we have a fantastic color and quality crop with a range of sizes of Pink Lady.”

Cosmic Crisp broke into the top 10 apple varieties in the Midwest region during its first full month of the season. All regions are poised for growth with Cosmic Crisp this year because of increased crop volumes and length of season, Shales said. Retailers should be treating it like a core variety with ample display space, regular promotion to increase movement, and executing great merchandising strategies to introduce it to consumers.   

“As I’ve toured stores out west, I’ve seen really good placement of Cosmic Crisp, and you definitely notice it from a consumer standpoint,” said Shales. “I think our opportunity is to open up the display space, promote the variety, and make sure we continue that education to encourage people to pick up the Cosmic Crisp and try it.”  

The top 5 apple performers remained unchanged, according to Fast Facts. Gala made up 22.8% of apple volumes sold and 18.2% of apple dollars. Honeycrisp made up 21.5% of apple volumes sold and 29.5% of dollars. Granny Smith, Fuji, and Red Delicious rounded out the top 5.