Convenience Stores Offer Promising Market for Fresh-Cut Produce

Seventy-eight percent of consumers are buying fresh-cut produce from their supermarkets, according to a survey by the Produce Marketing Association (PMA).

PMA recently conducted a telephone survey of 1,000 consumers to see how, why and when they use fresh-cut produce. The survey focused on produce in convenience stores – and revealed a promising marketplace to sell more fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products.

The people who use fresh-cut produce the most are less than 30 years old – 84 percent of that age group answered “yes,” compared to 72 percent for those 64 or older, 78 percent of those 55 to 64, 79 percent of those 46 to 54 and 82 percent of 30- to 45-year-olds.

Of that 78 percent who use fresh-cut, 37 percent said they do so for health and nutritional reasons. Close behind was convenience and ease of use. Fourteen percent said quality and 12 percent said freshness. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they use fresh-cut products as is, while 60 percent use the products as an ingredient. Snacking also is a popular use for fresh-cut produce – more than half of the respondents said they use it as a snack. Other uses for fresh-cut were as an appetizer and an on-the-run food.

Out of the 22 percent of those who said they don’t buy fresh-cut, 25 percent said the products are easier to prepare at home while 24 percent said fresh-cut is too expensive. Fifteen percent of consumers were concerned about the quality of fresh-cut produce.

Surveyors also asked consumers what items they would like to see offered as fresh-cut. Responses included lettuce and salad greens, tomatoes, carrots, melons, pineapple, broccoli and cauliflower.

What else can the industry do to encourage consumers to buy fresh-cut produce? According to the survey, 24 percent of consumers would like to see lower prices. Other responses included improving freshness, improving presentation and marketing, eliminating chemicals and preservatives, providing organics and improving selection and variety.

Convenience Stores

With consumers living on-the-go more than ever, convenience stores would seem the natural place to buy – and sell – fresh-cut produce. But, according to the survey, only 15 percent of consumers buy fresh-cut from convenience stores. That leaves a big marketplace untapped.

Most of the consumers said they buy all of their produce from supermarkets, so they would not need to buy it at convenience stores. A large part of that group – 24 percent – perceived produce at convenience stores as costing too much, and 23 percent said they have concerns about the quality of produce offered at convenience stores.

Surprisingly, 53 percent of those who buy produce at convenience stores take the product home. Thirty two percent eat them as a grab-and-go meal.

So what do consumers want at convenience stores? Nine percent want salad greens and ingredients, 7 percent would like tropical fruits, 6 percent want melons, 5 percent want citrus, 5 percent want bananas and 3 percent want apples.

Once these products are available at convenience stores, it will help increase produce consumption. Forty-five percent of those who buy produce from convenience stores said they are eating more fresh fruits and vegetables than they did before.

In all, this survey shows that convenience stores offer opportunities for the produce industry in general and the fresh-cut industry specifically. With 85 percent of people not buying produce at convenience stores, there’s a big window of opportunity. There are packaging options available that allow companies to sell cup-holder snacks that would fit this bill perfectly. From carrot sticks to apple slices and cup-holder salads to cut oranges, fresh-cut options abound for convenience salads. After all, fresh-cut is about convenience.

The complete survey is available from PMA at its Web site, www.pma.com.