The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2026 survey shows 2 in 3 consumers say they feel strongly about buying locally grown produce, and millennials and Gen Z led the way in that category, with 47% of millennials and 45% of Gen Z saying they’re buying more locally grown produce than last year.
But Fresh Trends 2025 finds that while consumers want to spend on local and specialty produce items, their actions may not reflect those desires. Gen Xers and baby boomers are the least frequent in reporting that they bought more local this year compared with last year at 26% and 18%, respectively.
Seventy-nine percent of parents are more likely to feel strongly about buying local produce than non-parents at 60%. Regionally speaking, consumers in the Northeast (74%) are most likely to feel strongly about buying local.
The demographic showing local the most love are GLP-1 patients, 85% of whom say they feel strongly about buying local produce, and 62% of whom say they are purchasing more local produce than a year ago.
And while the majority of consumers say they would buy more fresh produce if price were not a concern, specialty and value-added produce are the least likely categories to see an increase in purchase regardless of price, according to Fresh Trends 2025.
Related: Get more insights by downloading the Fresh Trends 2025 report here.
