Aldi is the top seller of British apples, according to new research from trade association British Apples & Pears (BAPL).
According to The Grocer, Aldi sold 23% of all British apples last year, representing the greatest volume of any UK supermarket.
BAPL compared apple and pear sales over the past three years in UK retailers to identify longer term support for the category. As a result, the industry body has now named the German discounter as the 2023 Apple Retailer of the Year.
In the year starting September 2022, Aldi sold 32,165 tonnes of British dessert apples, ahead of Tesco, which sold 28,954 tonnes, and Sainsbury’s which sold 24,448 tonnes – a difference of 3,211 and 7,717, respectively.
However, in the three years from 2019 to 2022, Sainsbury’s sold the most (117,892 tonnes), then Tesco (116,869 tonnes) and Aldi (111,373 tonnes).
British apple crops are expected to be smaller and sweeter this year, due to last summer’s extreme heat and droughts.
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BAPL executive chair, Ali Capper told The Grocer: “For Aldi to sell more than double the expected volume (based on grocery market share) is an excellent performance and one which we hope other retailers will emulate.
“It’s so important all our supermarkets get behind British farmers and our wonderful British apples and pears,” said Capper. “Buying British over imported fruit saves on food miles, and we know consumers want British if at all possible.
“When we have such wonderful fruit available in good quantities, that will store well, there really is no reason to look overseas,” she added.
“It would be great to see every retailer making it much easier for the shopper to find British apples and pears in their stores and online,” he added.
The news comes as Aldi has launched its biggest ever round of price cuts on its fruit and vegetable essentials last month.
