The first-ever Italian red-fleshed apple variety - Red Moon - sold out this month, ending its commercial campaign earlier than anticipated.

In a period of just over two and a half months, 1,500 metric tons (MT) of the apples were sold.

Red Moon, the commercial brand, sold most of the apples in large quantities to Northern Europe. In particular, demand from Germany and Scandanavian countries caused the product to run out quickly.

This, said the company's marketing management representative Jügen Braun, is because "an apple with a slightly sour taste is highly valued" in the region.

Luis Clementi of Clementi SRL and partner of Red Moon said that the fruit is highly desired in other markets as well. With interest from Asian countries in particular, the company says that it cannot meet the needs of all markets at this time.

There are currently 100 hectares of trees planted in Italy, with production levels due to increase over the coming years.

Red Moon apple season overview

Despite the fact that growers had a 50% higher harvest than last year, only cold storage, second choice apples are left after the fruit flew off the shelves upon hitting the markets.

Speaking on the season's conditions, Clementi said the 2019 campaign "was not easy to handle in the fields"

"The bad weather during the sensitive pollination phase and the heavy rain during the harvest...made work difficult. Nevertheless, the results were very satisfactory," he explained.

The fruit's unusual red flesh, caused by compounds called anthocyanins, makes it good to use in other products. Those products, from seltzers to juices, are sold by the company as well.

Now that its fresh product is out of stock, it says that it will now focus on its non-alcoholic seltzer. The processing of the company's seltzer is underway and will be showcased at this year's Fruit Logistica.

The Red Moon apple variety was first debuted at the 2018 edition of the trade fair.