These small, antioxidant-rich berries are growing in popularity. Blueberries were the No. 8 fruit that consumers purchased in the past year, up from No. 10 in Fresh Trends 2012. The tiny blue globes were the No. 4 item that consumers said they were buying now that they did not buy previously.
Convenient and full of health benefits, blueberries continue to be a consumer favorite across the board. More than 40% of shoppers in every region and every age group bought the berries. It’s no surprise that shoppers in the Northeast (a prime growing area) were more likely to buy up blueberries than those in other regions – they’ve been the top regional buyer for four straight years.
Price seems to be one factor that prevents purchases. The likelihood of purchase increased according to income, in fact, consumers in the top income bracket were nearly twice as likely to buy the berries as those earning less than $25,000 annually.
These easy to eat out-of-hand fruits were favored by families with kids again this year. Shoppers with kids were more likely to buy the berries, at 51%, than those without kids, at 46%.
Blueberries continue to have a strong organic following. In fact, the berries were eighth on the list of commodities that shoppers bought as exclusively organic. The likelihood of an organic-only blueberry purchase increased this year, with 12% of buyers saying they always purchased organic berries. Thirty-two percent of buyers said they bought organic product at least some of the time, a number down just one percentage point from last year.
48% of customers purchased blueberries within the past 12 months.
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