There's a buzz in the Australian apple industry and it's not just the pollenating bees.
A brand new apple variety developed in France with a deep red flesh is aiming to knock Royal Gala, Granny Smith and Pink Lady off their perch.
The Kissabel apple, a hybrid of crabapple and a traditional eating apple, is available in red, yellow and orange and is gaining notoriety for its ghoulish red flesh.
It is being produced by Montague which has been growing apples in Australia for more than 70 years.
With a sweet and tangy flavour, it's not just the distinctive rouge of the flesh, that has growers excited.
Montague's chief innovation officer Rowan Little said the Kissabel's value went beyond it's novelty colour.
"It goes deeper than that. It's got quite a unique flavor as well," he said.
"It's got higher acidity [and] it works really well on a cheese board."
Mr Little said a small amount of the apples would be available for sale this year.
"We have a really small amount of fruit that we have available for sale this year. So we're putting that in some of the largest supermarkets and into the wholesale market," he said.
"There's been lots of investment in testing. So I think it'll end up ultimately, in the long-term being a little bit more expensive than an average apple, but not significantly higher."
The apples have a short season and are harvested between late March and May.
Home grown: Southern Bliss
Another new apple entering the market this year is the Southern Bliss, created in Tasmania's Huon Valley, by R&R Smith growers.
They've been working on the new sweet apple for the last seven years with 75,000 Southern Bliss trees now planted and plans for 300,000 more.
R&R Smith's Jess Calvert said there was growing confidence in the variety.
"We are looking to have it on national supermarket shelves mid this year and the cost is yet to be determined," she said.
The Southern Bliss apple is big, juicy and crisp. Red with a yellow blush it has a white flesh and relatively thin skin.
"We're really excited and think it has a great taste. We've had some great feedback so far.
'There has been a big push in the apple industry to develop new varieties but the ultimate test is if the consumer comes back and rebuys," Ms Calvert said.
Aussies love their apples
More than 300,000 tonnes of apples were produced in Australia in 2021 to 2022 with the industry valued at more than $568 million, according to Apple and Pear Australia.
The famous Granny Smith apple was developed in Australia in 1868 from a chance seedling by English immigrant Maria Ann Smith.
The beloved Cripps Pink was bred by John Cripps in Western Australia in 1973. It was the result of crossing a Golden Delicious and a Lady Williams later becoming world renowned as the Pink Lady brand of apples.
But it's the Pink Lady apple that dominates the Australian market with 37 per cent of Aussie shoppers reaching for the tangy and sweet fruit in 2022.
Royal Gala came in second at 21 per cent of apple sales last year followed by Granny Smith with 13 per cent.
"Australian consumers are passionate about their favourite apple and while there are six or seven staple apples there are quite a large amount of smaller new varieties coming onto the market," a spokesperson for Apple and Pear Australia said.
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Mr Little of Montague said changing consumers' habits was a challenge.
"Pink Lady dominates the market, which makes Australia quite unique," he said.
"Consumers generally say apples are a bit ho-hum, they're not that exciting. So one of the reasons we got involved with this project was to try and break that view ... by doing something really radically different."
