I grew up in northern Alberta, in a small town famous for being mile zero of the Mackenzie Highway, the only paved road that connects the Northwest Territories with the rest of our country. It was the ‘80s and ‘90s, and I was in my brown bag lunch era. It was guaranteed there was an apple in my lunch, possibly some sliced into my cereal and probably another with peanut butter and crackers after school. Tender and tropical fruits were a rarity in northern grocery stores and we couldn’t have afforded them anyway.
I’ve since relocated to the beautiful Okanagan in British Columbia to live among the orchards and vineyards and now I have the privilege of working on behalf of B.C. fruit growers. When I take my kids to the grocery store — they are in their reusable cloth lunch bag eras — I am in awe of the sheer number of year-round fruit options from around the globe, most of which compare in price or are cheaper than apples grown just down the road.
This smorgasbord of global offerings has put a dent in the demand for apples. As an ‘elder millennial’ that has worked in the apple industry for a decade, I faithfully put apples in my cart each week.
We’re all getting our apple a day and so far have been lucky enough to keep the doctor away. A quick survey of other carts in the grocery store, however, seems to confirm the trend of declining apple consumption among millennials and Gen Zs — generations that represent an ever-increasing share of buying power.
I don’t believe that younger generations care less about keeping the doctor away. Quite the opposite, actually. They’ve grown up with daily exposure to internet health and diet advice. They have a steady stream of influencers touting the latest and greatest ‘superfoods.’ They are willing to spend on healthy options and now there are a plethora of trendy options available.
So, creating apple hype gets left to the marketers. Most marketing of apples is done by variety rather than generic promotion of apples. As shelf space for apples decreases, new and exciting ‘club’ varieties — some with considerable advertising dollars behind them, like Cosmic Crisp — are jockeying for space and attention. Some of the club branding is impressive and very well done. However, variety-centered campaigns aren’t looking to promote apple consumption as a whole.
In B.C., the apple sector has been on a sharp decline; falling from 8,500 acres in 2018 to 6,900 acres in 2023. The decrease was acknowledged by the provincial government, which in 2020 invested in a multi-year tree fruit stabilization process, working together with industry leaders to identify challenges facing the B.C. tree fruit and grapes sectors. Among the many recommendations in the final report was the need for coordinated and effective marketing.
One proposed vehicle for promotion of apples and the delivery of a marketing strategy is through a commission. Independent consultants have been engaged to consult with industry on the possibility of, and to determine the level of grower support for, a B.C. Apple Marketing Commission. A levy collected by the commission would be used for the promotion of B.C. apples domestically and internationally. It would also allow B.C. the opportunity to collaborate with other Canadian apple-producing provinces to implement a marketing levy on imported apples, which would generate funds that could go towards increasing consumption of apples nationally.
As expected with any proposed change to an industry that would involve a high degree of bureaucracy, opinions on the potential commission are strong and varied. Conversations can be contentious and not everyone is a fan of the commission model, but there seems to be almost universal agreement on the need for generic marketing of apples both in B.C. and nationally. It’s not just the B.C. apple industry warming up to generic apple promotion, either.
Even major players in Washington, the Goliath state of apple production, are discussing the potential of collaborating on collective marketing to drive overall consumption of apples.
Maybe we need some health and fitness influencers to talk about the health benefits and some mom influencers to talk about how well an apple fits into their school’s waste-free lunch program (no reusable containers necessary!) Maybe we need retailers hosting Apple-palooza like my local store was hosting for mangoes the other day, complete with grass skirts and recipes as soon as you walk in the door. Maybe we need some sort of national campaign. Off the top of my head, maybe something like Make Apples Great Again? I’ll leave it to the marketers.
However we approach it, it’s time for the humble apple to be a little less humble. It’s time to bring back ‘an apple a day.’
Melissa Tesche is the general manager of the BC Fruit Growers’ Association.