Pink Lady has pipped Granny Smith as the most ‘recalled’ apple among its core market of women.

An Ipsos MORI poll for Coregeo – master licensor for Pink Lady in the UK – showed that unprompted ‘top of mind’ awareness for Pink Lady was 20% this year, ahead of Granny Smith (19%) and Cox (13%).

Last year a similar poll put Granny Smith top at 26%, Cox at 18% and Pink Lady at 14%.

“We’re particularly pleased to see that our marketing and communications are absolutely hitting the mark,” said Coregeo MD Andy Macdonald.

Pink Lady also overtook Cox this year for awareness among men and women combined. Awareness for it was 18% this year whereas Cox was 13%. But Granny Smith remained in the lead, at 21%.

Market share of Pink Lady sits at 10.6% by value, up from 9% in 2011. Granny Smith’s share fell from 9.1% to 7.9% this year. Gala declined from 27% to 25% and Braeburn from 17.9% to 17.5%. [Kantar 52 w/e August 2012].

Pink Lady is a brand under which the Cripps Pink variety is sold if it meets brand specifications. Granny Smith and Cox apples are varieties.

This year’s survey was carried out in August and September. Last year’s survey was conducted in February.