People are eating more fresh produce more often, and the proof is in not only higher dollar sales but also higher volume numbers at US supermarkets.
Those were among the highlights shared at the Southeast Produce Council’s annual Innovations conference in Nashville, Tenn., Sept. 12-14.
In the association’s fourth annual edition of its What’s New? consumer research, Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics, talked trends with a packed house on Fresh Innovation’s second day.
Consumers are prioritizing their consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, Roerink told attendees.
In 2022, 53% of consumers ate fresh produce four or more times a week. By 2023, that had risen to 57%. This year, it’s up to 61%.
For retailers, that’s meant “robust gains in dollars, units and volume,” Roerink said.
In the 12 months ending June 30, fresh produce sales totaled $91 billion. That’s a 3.2% increase in dollar sales, second only to floral; a 1.9% unit increase in units, second only to deli; and a 2.6% increase in pounds.
The performance of both fruits and vegetables is up, though fruit has been the big winner.
Fruit sales totaled $46.3 billion. Dollar sales were up 5.3%, unit sales 2.6% and volumes 3.5%.
Vegetable sales totaled $43.3 billion. Dollar sales rose 1.2%, units 1.4% and volumes 1.7%.
“The produce industry is delivering and delivering big,” said David Sherrod, President and CEO of SEPC. “The fourth edition of our research found that more consumers eat fresh produce daily and this growth corresponds to a 2.6% increase in fresh produce pounds in the latest Circana data. Fresh produce is the strongest of the perimeter departments and the study identified many more opportunities for produce growth in years to come.”
The produce industry’s biggest opportunity, now that units per trip have stabilized, Roerink told attendees, lies in capitalizing on the increase in trips to stores consumers are making.
The average American shopper makes 84.9 trips to the store annually. That’s up 2% from a year ago and 7% from three years ago.
Units purchased per trip, however, are flat from a year ago and down 6.9% from three years ago.
Cost concerns
At the top of consumers’ minds when it comes to buying fresh fruits and vegetables and just about everything else, Roerink said, is cost.
“Life has gotten expensive, and consumers are concerned over inflation, credit card debt and unemployment.
Seventy-six percent of consumers believe fresh produce costs more, up from 71% in 2023. A similar number believe restaurant prices are higher.
Fifty-five percent of shoppers frequently focus only on what and how much they need; another 32% do so occasionally.
Retailers are responding with loyalty, trying to optimize the spending among primary and secondary shoppers.
Seven in ten shoppers belong to one or more grocery store loyalty programs, and 87% would be interested in a fruit or vegetable brand offering a loyalty program.
Price is also at the top of the list when consumers were asked to name the prompts that would likely lead them to buy more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Sixty-two percent cited better prices, followed by 44% if produce were to last longer, 31% if assortment were greater, 29% if fresher, 26% if it was prepared safely, 21% if they knew whether it was prepared in-store or elsewhere, 17% if they had the ability to create their own mix of products and 19% if organic offerings were better.
“Shoppers today are constantly balancing budget versus needs and wants,” Sherrod said. “The ultimate value equation is far more than the lowest price alone. In fact, 93% of consumers are willing to splurge a little when the time is right. Health, holidays, sustainability, and convenience are important reasons for consumers to spend a little more than normal.”
Looking beyond price
That said, the solution for retailers isn’t just as simple as lowering prices.
“Price and promotions are important, but the consumer value equation is far more than just the lowest price,” Roerink said.
That’s because we now live in what Roerink has come to call “The World of AND.” Price and convenience, price and health, price and social responsibility. Consumers have a variety of different words they like to see after “price,” and successful suppliers and retailers must get comfortable with as many of them as possible.
“Improving upon perfection In the World of AND, consumers seek value, but also convenience, a fun shopping environment, meal inspiration and something new every once in a while to shake up the routine.”
Finding new ways of getting fresh produce to shoppers could pay huge dividends, Roerink told Fresh Innovations attendees.
Fifty-one percent of shoppers, for instance, said they’d increase their consumption if they had access to a produce vending machine at work, the gym or another high-traffic area.
Sixty percent said they would eat more produce if there were displays in more areas of their grocery store, and 63% would if they had access to more on-the-go produce packs.
There’s also substantial interest among shoppers for continued innovation in the produce department.
What shoppers want
- 45% are interested in one or more areas of innovation
- 33% of shoppers are interested in different sizes of the same item
- 49% in items with more nutrients (i.e. extra vitamin C or D)
- 41% in a different eating experience/texture (i.e. crispy, crunchy, seedless, etc.)
- 33% in a different size of a common product (e.g. a small iceberg lettuce)
- 33% in easier/nicer preparation (i.e. tearless onions)
- 31% in a different flavor (i.e. extra sweet tomatoes)
- 24% in a different color (i.e. a pink banana)
Health matters
General wellness/energy are huge opportunities for retailers looking to boost their fresh produce sales, especially since consumers already make that link.
Shoppers look to fresh produce for:
- 52% General wellness
- 48% Energy
- 45% Gut/digestive health
- 43% Immunity building
- 42% Weight management
- 41% Cardiovascular health
- 39% Supplement deficiencies
- 38% Bone/joint health
- 38% Inflammation
- 37% Cognitive function/brain health
- 35% Sleep/rest support
- 34% Stress relief
- 34% Skin/hair/beauty support
- 31% Cleansing/detox
- 27% Rapid hydration
5 other takeaways
- Convenience is making a comeback in consumers’ purchase decisions, while they continue to emphasize value, health and taste. Circana data confirms this finding with a 1.4% increase in value-added produce pound sales.
- Produce items sold in the deli-prepared food section of the store are also showing robust growth.
- Retailers can provide more convenience by secondary produce displays throughout the stores, desired by 60% of consumers.
- 88% of consumers are interested in knowing more about the who, where and how of store-bought produce with a key communication role for the package label and websites.
- New item trial can drive greater consumption, with social media increasingly influencing produce purchasing decisions. Several TikTok trends are driving big volume sales increases in grapes and cucumbers. More than half (52%) of retailers market or merchandise against these kinds of TikTok trends online or in-store. 40% of grower/shippers do as well.
