Final retail results for the full 2014 apple crop have been released by Nielsen. The data show consumers continue their love affair with Honeycrisp apples while emerging branded apples continue to deliver strong dollar and volume growth. Despite a record apple harvest last year, total apple volume sold at retail showed only a slight increase, indicating that while consumer preferences are shifting it is not translating into increases in total apple consumption.

Nielsen data for the completed apple season from Sept. 1, 2014 to Aug. 28, 2015 show that for the year, total apple volume sold at retail increased by 1.9 percent. A decline of 3.9 percent in the average retail price caused overall apple category dollars to drop for the year by 2 percent.

Nielsen data report actual sales performance from approximately 19,000 supermarkets representing 67 percent of total U.S. supermarket sales.

Among the top five apples, Honeycrisp sales jumped by 25 percent, cementing its position as the No. 2 selling apple in the United States. Honeycrisp was the only apple in the top five varieties to generate a dollar performance increase for the year. Red Delicious appears to have suffered from shifting consumer tastes. Reds dropped from the No. 2 selling variety in 2013 to No. 4 during 2014, declining by 15.4 percent for the year. Overall, the top five apple varieties (Gala, Honeycrsip, Fuji, Red Delicious and Granny Smith) drove 75 percent of total category sales for the year.

Among all varieties in the top 10, Ambrosia showed the strongest dollar growth. Its sales jumped over 47 percent for the year, moving the apple into the top 10 selling varieties in the U.S. for the first time, displacing Braeburn. Ambrosia had the largest dollar growth rate of any apple in the top 10.

Despite the record crop, only three apple varieties in the top 10 generated year-over-year sales increases, all of which are premium varieties with an average retail over $2 per pound.

Industry experts see category growth being driven by consumers shifting from commodity apples to premium varietals.

“Every retailer should take note that despite a record crop and cheap prices last year, category sales actually declined,” Katharine Grove, marketing specialist at CMI, said in a press release. “Retailers that identified the opportunity to maximize performance of Honeycrisp, Ambrosia and some of the key emerging branded apples like Kanzi and KIKU probably had a pretty good year while their competitors lost market share.

“Premium packaged apples captured consumer attention and also drove retail growth,” said Grove. “The Nielsen data shows that for the year, two-pound premium pouch bags had the strongest growth rate of all of the major packaged apple segments.”