Not too long ago Curious Plot, a marketing communications agency specializing in the produce industry, released its 2024 Consumer Curiosity Report. In this “Tip of the Iceberg” podcast episode, Curious Plot Vice President Cristie Mather helps retailers and those in the produce industry better understand its findings.
“We know that, as marketers, access to consumer research can be a road map essentially to show us where we’re going and how we’re going to get there,” she said. “We wanted to get into the minds of the early adopter consumers, which are the consumers that really identify trends in the making.”
Mather said many of the “Top Curiosities” remained the same year to year, but the order has shifted slightly. The top curiosity for 2024? Convenience.
“We saw that these early adopter consumers are really looking for easy meals that can be made under 30 minutes or less that was the No. 1 thing that they’re looking for information about and resources about,” she said.
These early adopters seek preparation tips and recipes, even as early adopters and sophisticated foodies, Mather said.
Secondly, consumers are concerned about food costs. These food-centric shoppers seek resources to help create delicious, affordable meals that are easy to prepare and don’t require a long and extensive list of ingredients.
“Even these really food lifestyle-oriented early adopter consumers are also looking for quick easy and affordable meal solutions,” Mather said. “Sophisticated foodie consumers want this quick and easy meal. It means that your best shoppers are also shopping fresh cut, retail foodservice — whatever it takes for them to get in and out of the store and to save time and energy when it comes to preparing their meals.”
Armed with this knowledge, retailers can really engage with these shoppers in the retail foodservice and grab-and-go departments, Mather said.
Another notable trend is that while these consumers want affordable and easy-to-prepare meals, they’re also interested in global flavors.
“We know that these folks are inspired by new and interesting ways to prepare things, and so how does that really inspire innovation within fresh-cut?” she said. “It’s interesting to think about how these shoppers are looking for both convenience, but they also like to explore and try new things.”
Check out the entire podcast episode in the video above.
