September and October saw strong volumes of new season British apples supplied by British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) growers. Once again, Aldi and Lidl were the standout performers, racing ahead of the competition and giving a great boost to British growers.
Lidl led the way with 22.7% (4,313 tonnes) of all British apples sold to UK supermarkets by BAPL growers in the first two months of the 2025 season. Aldi followed closely behind with 20.0% (3,809 tonnes). Both discount retailers are significantly overtrading on British apples compared to their grocery market shares of just 8.2% (Lidl) and 10.6% (Aldi).
“It’s fantastic to see Lidl and Aldi once again leading the charge at the start of the British apple season,” said BAPL executive chair, Ali Capper. “They’re clearly listening to their customers, who love to buy home-grown fruit. We hope the other supermarkets will step up in the coming months.”
The industry needs Tesco’s support through the whole season and particularly in the early months at the start of season. This year, despite holding the largest grocery market share at 28.2%, Tesco again lags far behind, taking only 15.1% (2,863 tonnes) of British apples during September and October 2025. This compares to 2018 when in the same two months Tesco sold 6,307 tonnes of British apple, more than double this year’s sales.
“Tesco’s early-season performance is well below expectations and far behind the discounters,” said Ali Capper. “This suggests British apples are losing out in Tesco to cheaper imports at just the time when home-grown fruit is in great supply and perfect quality.”
Sainsbury’s and Asda fared better that Tesco, getting close to their grocery market share. Sainsbury’s sold 13.5% (2,573 tonnes) of all BAPL growers’ apples, and Asda had 10.0% (1,895 tonnes), compared to their respective grocery market shares of 15.7% and 11.6%. However, Asda continues to show improvement from its very low volumes in 2023.
Morrisons took 6.1% (1,157 tonnes), Co-op 3.7% (697 tonnes), M&S 3.5% (666 tonnes), and Waitrose 3.3% (632 tonnes) – all roughly in line with expectations
“We know shoppers get frustrated when they can’t find British apples on supermarket shelves in the early weeks of the season, it is the biggest complaint from shoppers on our social channels,” added Capper. “Our growers work incredibly hard to deliver delicious, high-quality fruit from September onwards, and we’d like to see every retailer supporting the seasonality message with lots of union flags, British displays and shelves full of British apples.”
British apple sales by BAPL growers for September and October 2025
Full details of BAPL member monthly sales can be viewed at: https://www.britishapplesandpears.co.uk/supermarket-sales-data.