Analysis of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Sales at Retail

“The strength of fresh produce sales this month is very telling for the rest of the year. Consumers are clearly dialed into fresh produce with its many benefits. Consumers are shopping the department more often this year and that means produce has a chance to do what produce does best: impress and drive impulse and incrementality.

Fruit has experienced a very strong year so far and I expect many of the summer powerhouses to come on strong in the next few months. Grilling season is about to kick off and produce can be the budget hero helping to offset the high beef prices.“

April 2024

What's New

Foodservice Inflation

Value Continues to Dominate the Meal Landscape

In an April study among 1,700 U.S. consumers, 210 Analytics found that 34% of consumers are worse off financially now than they were one year ago. While food-at-home inflation has been mild all year, the cumulative impact of inflation has nine in 10 shoppers concerned about grocery and restaurant prices.
Food-away-from-home inflation has outpaced at-home inflation in the past few months. According to Circana’s Darren Seifer, restaurant traffic for the first quarter fell 2%, reflecting the consumer concern.

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Among those with greater financial pressure, home-cooked meals are seen as a solution to help balance spending. The study found that these households are more focused on price and sales promotions when shopping for groceries and tend to de-emphasize nutrition and time-saving solutions. They are more likely to purchase private-brand items and show a much greater willingness to change what they are purchasing, while keeping a close eye on sales promotions across multiple stores. Households with improved finances are more likely to buy from restaurants more often.
The April numbers are impacted by Easter shifting from the second to the first quarter of this year. While the week ending 3/31 in last month’s report showed big year-on-year increases in volume across departments, the results of the week ending 4/7/2024 in this report reflect the gap versus last year’s Easter.

State of Produce

April 2024	Price/Lb.	$ Sales	$ vs. YA	Lbs. vs. YA
Fresh Fruits	$1.80 \| +3.2%	$3.6B	+3.5%	+0.3%
Fresh Vegetables	$2.04 \| +1.7%	$3.4B	+1.5%	-0.2%

Top Growth Commodities (NEW $)

Absolute $ gain vs. YA

Grapes	+$56.9M
Avocados	+$43.1M
Grapes	+$25.0M
Avocados	+$21.9M
Mandarins	+$34.7M
Onions	+$32.6M
Berries	+$26.3
Lettuce	+$22.2M
Tomatoes	+$21.2M
Cucumbers	+$14.8M
Peppers	+$13.9M
Tangerines	+$11.3M