Marketing of fruit and vegetables remains key in driving demand and shaping the perceived value of fruit and vegetables to consumers, according to Hort Innovation.
While almost all households purchase fruit and vegetables over the course of a year (buying an average of 114.2kg of vegetables and 91.5kg of fruit), the 2023/24 year saw a tiny decline in households buying fruit and vegetables in retail stores.
Volumes for both fruit and vegetables increased, but there was a 0.3% decline in the percentage of households buying vegetables, and likewise for fruit versus the previous year.
"There are a number of factors which may contribute to volume growth of fresh produce lagging population growth," Hort Innovation Consumer Insights Manager, Wendy Hubbard said. "This includes reduced consumption of fruit and vegetables, reduced wastage of fruit and vegetables, growing some fruit and veg at home, switching to other food types within the supermarket eg: frozen or shelf-stable, buying more food out of home such as restaurants and take away or poor availability of fruit and veg due to growing conditions."
She added that fruit and vegetable volumes are heavily impacted by growing conditions, and this in turn can impact growth and decline rates across categories, especially when looking at annual performance.
"In terms of favourites, more than 85% of households bought bananas, apples, berries, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, onions and fresh salads," Ms Hubbard said. "When asked to select fruit and vegetables they love to eat, favourite fruits include Berries, Grapes, Mangoes and Bananas – Potatoes come out tops for Vegetables we love."
Hort Innovation also noted recent CPI data from the ABS that price increases across fruit and vegetables have been lower than other areas of the supermarket, and remain affordable for most households at an average price of $5.67 for fruit and $5.38 per kg for Vegetables.
Fruit prices were ahead of the prior year, up on average 4.0%. Growing conditions were mixed, resulting in some fruits having increased supply, great quality and lower prices, whilst it was the opposite for others. Consumers increased their shopping trips to buy fruit but bought slightly less volume per trip.
Increased supply of vegetables saw prices decline on the prior year and this led consumers to increase the amount of vegetables they purchased through both an increase in the average volume per shopping trip and more frequent shopping trips to buy vegetables. Across the top 10 vegetables, average prices have declined across seven of the top 10 vegetables including tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, capsicum, lettuce, carrots and herbs.
"Within the produce section there are plenty of fresh choices on offer for those searching for a bargain, these are typically featured and promoted by retailers at the store entrance and vary depending on availability," Ms Hubbard said. "We would encourage consumers to continue to make food choices that will support their health and well-being. In a recent consumer survey, 42% of households told us they are buying fruits and vegetables on special or when discounted more than they did 12 months ago- so bargain hunting is definitely a top strategy in use by households to make ends meet whilst still eating their fruits and vegetables."
While there is not any specific data on how much fruit and veg households are throwing away, recent Nielsen consumer research identified a trend towards waste avoidance with 45% of consumers saying they are eating leftovers more often.
"Around 50 per cent are saying they only buy what they'll use to avoid waste. This leans in not only towards reduced spending but also increased sustainability actions," Ms Hubbard said.
Volume-wise, for the year ending 16th June 2024, retail volumes of fruit, vegetables and dried fruits and nuts increased by 1.9% on the prior year to around 2.1m tonnes.
Hort Innovation investments to help drive consumption
Hort Innovation invests in key strategic imperatives to accelerate local and global demand. This includes accessing and expanding high-value markets to deliver profitability and sustainability for industry, driving consumption through high-impact, evidence-based domestic and export marketing campaigns, delivering valuable data and insights that transform decision-making and advancing solutions to reduce and utilise waste to deliver new revenue streams for growers.
Hort Innovation recently unveiled its new Hort IQ website – a one-stop shop of consumer data and insights for growers and Hort Innovation members, making it easy for the industry to access the latest consumer data.
The organisation has also announced a three-year strategic partnership with multi-award-winning agency, Australian advertising and creative powerhouse Thinkerbell to drive demand for Australian fresh produce, domestically and internationally.
It is also investing in R&D to support accelerating consumption. Two recent examples of this include a research collaboration to develop, test and deploy cutting-edge technology to improve crop genetics and research into fresh produce to uncover the secrets of bioactive and health benefits in fresh produce.
For more information
Hort Innovation
Phone: +61 2 8295 2300
[email protected]
www.horticulture.com.au