Moms and Families

Fruit & Veggie Tales

A recent study done by the Produce Marketing Association® gives new insight into the way parents shop for produce. 62 percent of parents said that fresh produce purchases were planned and 24 percent said they tended to be impulse purchases. There are several factors that influence this purchase decision. Price (mentioned by 43 percent of respondents), convenience (mentioned by 40 percent), nutrition and health (mentioned by 70 percent) and, of course, taste (mentioned by 77 percent) are all extremely important. Only 13 percent of those surveyed said that brand name is extremely important when shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables. Every parent in the world wants their kids to eat more fruits and vegetables and 60% of the respondents from this study said that taste/inconsistent taste are the biggest obstacles in making this happen. Of the fruits and vegetables that their kids do eat, most are eaten during snack time (mentioned by 46 percent of respondents) and dinnertime (mentioned by 30 percent).

WonderGroup's Perspective

No major surprises here. The biggest factors impacting parents' purchase decisions for produce are the same factors that influence their purchase decisions for most other products – price, convenience and a concern for whether their kids will use or consume the product (called taste in this case). As for brands in the category, it looks like continued bad news. Wal-Mart® and the rest of the giant retailers are already doing their best to make individual brands in the produce section irrelevant and, according to this study, most consumers already find these brands unmotivating and unimportant. Produce brands can avoid getting caught in this unprofitable price war by focusing on innovation, specifically in packaging that meets consumers' demands for convenience. Also, the study identifies that kids are not eating much fresh produce during school lunches. This presents another big opportunity (especially given the health/obesity focus) for brands to create products that are attractive to both students and school lunch planners.