According to a recent research, the volume of Bramley apple sales in Ireland reached 4200 tons in the year to September 2016, a year on year increase of 18%. The Kantar figures come out ahead of the start of National Bramley Week this week, a PR campaign to highlight the taste and versatility of this apple which is unique to Ireland and the UK.
There are 34 growers in Ireland, with a total area of 317 hectares of Bramley apples, producing apples with a farmgate value of €4.11 million.
Bramley apples are synonymous with apple pies, which have an enduring popularity with Irish consumers – 15% claim to eat a homemade apple pie with dinner, as well as another 7%, eating a bought apple pie.
A recent Bord Bia bakery study shows the home-baking market maintaining its popularity in Ireland.
Four in five Irish bakers are female, and just over half bake at least once a week. 65% of those surveyed bake alone, and 14% bake with their children.
Home baking increases toward the weekend, peaking on Saturday afternoon. Most bakers bake for family (60%) or fun (55%) and only 5% bake for work colleagues.
The renaissance in home cooking and baking has been fuelled by the popularity of cooking and lifestyle TV shows, in addition to an ever increasing online reference base for recipes and the growing consumer trends of increased engagement with cooking and cooking from scratch.
Con Traas, Irish Apple Growers Association, has a recent personal experience of the fondness of Irish consumers for apple pies. He put up a Facebook post on the Cahir Farmers Market – ‘Free Apples for an Apple Tart’, and put a €20 promotion on it. There was a catch of course – you had to make a tart with the free apples – and give it to someone! All told, including all the shares, he ended up with over 11 000 interactions on the post! Not a bad investment for €20. People promised to bake a pie for someone else and challenged someone else to do the same.
With a history of over 200 years in Ireland, Bramley apples look set to be around for another 200.
For further information on National Bramley Week, log on to www.bestinseason.ie
