Average weekly sales of Opal apples in the U.S. and Canada have been 28% higher in the season to date, in what has been described as a "robust marketing campaign" that reached more than one million people.

The variety, grown by Broetje Orchards and sold exclusively in North America by FirstFruits Marketing, hit a record high in weekly volume after delivering more than a million pounds of fresh Opals to retailers in the seven-day period ending March 8.

In a release, FirstFruits said the number of retailers carrying the variety had also reached a record high with 85% of the top retailers in the U.S. and Canada selling Opals.

CEO Keith Mathews said the season had shown tremendous momentum for the variety, which is a cross between the varieties Topaz and Golden Delicious.

"Consumers are telling us how much they love the apple, retailers are having great pull-throughs and consequently, we're experiencing record shipments," he said in the release.

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