Aldi was the largest buyer of British apples in September 2026, followed by Lidl and Tesco
UK discounters Aldi and Lidl accounted for the largest shares of British apples sold to supermarkets in September 2026, according to figures from crop association British Apples and Pears Limited (BAPL).
While Tesco took the BAPL 2026 award for highest British apple sales after selling 34,436 tonnes in the 2025/26 season, the discounters have led the way in purchasing a higher proportion relative to their respective shares of the overall grocery market.
In September 2026, Aldi recorded the highest volume of purchases at approximately 2,000 tonnes, accounting for approximately 22 per cent of British apples sold by BAPL growers, compared with a grocery market share of around 11 per cent.
At BAPL’s 2026 Retailer Awards presented in September, Aldi won the British Apple Market Outperformance award.
The award recognised that Aldi achieved just over twice the share of British apple sales that might be expected from its grocery market presence.
Lidl followed with around 1,750 tonnes, representing approximately 20 per cent of sales against a grocery market share of around 9 per cent.
Tesco ranked third, purchasing approximately 1,700 tonnes. The retailer accounted for around 19 per cent of British apple sales, below its overall grocery market share of approximately 28 per cent.
Both Sainsbury’s and Waitrose also performed strongly against their market positions.
Conversely, Asda, Morrisons, M&S and Co-op recorded lower shares of British apple purchases relative to their respective grocery market positions, with Asda accounting for 6 per cent of British shares despite an 11.5 per cent grocery market share.
Morrisons represented approximately 4.5 per cent of British apple sales against an overall grocery market share of around 8.5 per cent, while M&S accounted for approximately 2 per cent of sales compared with a grocery market share of around 4 per cent.
The news comes as the trade body anticipated the best eating quality of apples in years, thanks to warmer weather boosting the fruit’s sweetness, colour and aroma.
