Friday, March 29, 2024

Fresh producers must yell loudly

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Fresh fruit and produce companies around the world risk having their long-held and proven health claims stolen by the new arrivals on supermarket shelves, plant-based food products.
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One of the biggest emerging trends in consumer behaviour in six regions surveyed globally is healthy living, Cathy Burns, chief executive of giant United States trade organisation Produce Marketing Association, told Zespri’s Momentum conference.

“This includes a desire to shed things from the diet that are not good for me and it has become a proxy term for intelligence and social acceptance.

To eat healthily people are choosing organics and plant-based foods.

“For the first time we have seen the United States organics market break the US$50 billion mark for sales in 2018 and we do not see that slowing down at all.”

 Organic produce accounts for 36% of total organic spend in the United States with dairy products next and accounting for 18% in a sector that has enjoyed almost 10% a year growth for a decade.

“But it is the area of plant-based foods that are frustrating for people like me. 

“We are the original plant based food and someone else is going out and talking our story.”

So the produce sector needs to more firmly insert itself as being relevant.

“And I do not see the plant-based food sector slowing down.” 

The growth in the sector has been phenomenal, now at US$19b and expected to be valued at US$85b by 2030.

And that is in an increasingly unhealthy population research has shown could benefit from greater fresh produce consumption.

“The US spends $3.3 trillion a year on health care yet six of out 10 adults in the US have a chronic disease and four out of 10 have at least two.”

Predictions are the youngest generation of Americans is destined to live shorter lifespans than their parents, who, in turn, are already facing lifespans four years shorter than the generation before them.

“We have the answer to that.”

She pointed to fresh produce advocates like Dr William Li who has researched the value of produce consumption and, in particular, the value of eating one kiwifruit a day.

“It is not enough to simply tell people that they should eat fruit and vegetables because they are healthy.”  

Some health practitioners in the US are prescribing fruit and vegetables in their recommendations to ill patients and consumption has also been proven to reduce levels of depression, one of the west’s greatest mental health issues.

She also pointed out a need to change behaviours in produce consumption, for example, convincing Chinese to eat kiwifruit at times other than just after dinner, a traditional behaviour.

Linking behaviour and consumption changes to growers and consumers inevitably involves social media and even in the past 18 months the dynamics have shifted.

“We now have 89% of Instagram users under 35 and it has eclipsed SnapChat there. Globally people are spending 84 minutes a day watching video online and 50% of video watched online is on a mobile device with 90% shared with friends.”

For 2020 videos are estimated to form 80% of all internet traffic globally.

“And in this area it is something you at Zespri are doing well.” 

Efforts to create videos linking growers with consumers also meet a growing expectation among consumers for transparency, connecting with the people who grow the products they eat.

“I cannot think of a better time to capitalise on what you are already doing.”

Substance behind sustainability claims is critical, with 72% of US consumers expecting sustainability policies from their grocers and 62% from their restaurant/food outlets.

“And this is especially around plastic.” 

More countries are banning single use plastics and Zespri has promised to make all packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable in the next five years.

Latest research on food waste has also highlighted how much (almost half) is contributed by consumers not caring for  food or finishing it. 

With that has come apps that can notify concerned consumers about food on shelves in supermarkets that is due to expire, alerting them to the deal that might go with that. 

Swedish fin-tech company Doconomy has developed a carbon-credit credit card that tracks the carbon content of purchases and once an individual’s carbon footprint limit is reached denies any further purchases. 

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