Bananas
Bananas are consumers’ top pick in the produce department. The likelihood of a banana purchase inched up one percentage point from Fresh Trends 2011.
Likely because of the availability and low price of this tropical fruit, banana purchases are not as tied to income as many other commodities. Middle-income consumers (those earning $25,000 to $49,999 annually) were slightly more likely to buy bananas than those in other income brackets.
While nearly all consumers buy bananas, mature shoppers were most likely to seek out the fruit. Shoppers age 59 and older comprised the group most likely to buy bananas overall.
Consumers know bananas inside and out. The fruit was the No. 1 item that shoppers felt comfortable selecting as ripe at the store (78% said so), and it was also the No. 1 item that they knew how to ripen at home (71% said so). More than half of banana buyers – 52% – said they preferred to buy ripe bananas.
There’s not a huge demand for organic bananas. However, the number of consumers buying organic only bananas doubled from last year, with 6% of banana buyers saying they always bought organic fruit. Twenty-two percent of banana buyers said they bought organic product at least some of the time, a number nearly double from Fresh Trends 2011. As was the case last year, the youngest shoppers surveyed were most likely to buy organic bananas exclusively.
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