Which supermarket sold the most British apples so far?
27th January 2025
The latest data from British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) has revealed which retailers were best at backing growers in the first four months of the British apple year.
The same as in the 2023/24 season, Aldi came out on top. British growers sold 11,824 tonnes of British apples to the discounter between September and December 2024. This meant the retailer sold 23% of all UK apples bought from BAPL growers in that period, significantly outperforming its grocery market share of 10%.
Once again, Tesco took some time to get going and only topped the British apple volume charts in December 2024, having been third in the league tables behind Aldi and Lidl in September and October. However, the UK’s biggest retailer stepped up its game in December 2024, achieving the highest volume of British apples (2,734 tonnes) of all supermarkets, BAPL confirmed.
Tesco’s new season volumes equate to 18% of all British apples supplied by BAPL growers between September and December 2024, underperforming against their grocery market share of 28.5%.
Like its fellow discounter, Lidl also outperformed compared to its grocery market share, buying 16% (8,499 tonnes) of all British apples sold by BAPL growers compared to its 7.3% grocery market share. This puts the retailer third in the league table for the first four months of the current season and pushes Sainbury’s into fourth place.
Crucial time for British growers
BAPL said that despite being in fourth place, Sainsbury’s performed well, buying 16% (8,281 tonnes) of all British apples sold by BAPL growers between September and December 2024, perfectly matching its 16% grocery market share.
Marks & Spencer and Waitrose also performed well between September and December 2024 – purchasing 2,911 tonnes and 2,707 tonnes of British apples, respectively. These volumes meant both retailers’ purchases of British apples surpassed their grocery market share.
At the start of the 2023 season, Asda had been a disappointment, buying just 5% of all British apples sold by BAPL growers compared to its market share of 13.6%. However, in 2024, the retailer had the best year-on-year performance, buying 1,044 tonnes more than the same period last year.
Iceland registered zero purchases of British apples from BAPL growers at the start of this season. In October to December 2023, they had managed 329 tonnes, but in the same period in 2024, they could not even match that meagre volume.
Executive chair of BAPL, Ali Capper, said: “The start of the new British apple season is a crucial time for our growers. We know shoppers are very keen to get their hands on the delicious new season fruit, and we’ve had some great support from many UK retailers.
“Once again Aldi and Lidl significantly outperformed against their grocery market share and really got behind British top fruit. However, they are facing strong competition from Tesco, as it finally got to the top of the new season league table in December 2024.”
“British apple production volumes are keeping pace with previous years. October to December 2023 saw a total volume of 45,901 tonnes of British apples being sold by BAPL growers to UK retailers, compared to 45,404 tonnes in the same period in 2024. Supply remains good, and the quality of the fruit is excellent, so we’d urge all the retailers to continue their support by buying British.”
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