The latest FreshFacts on Retail report from the United Fresh Produce Association shows that the value-added segment continues to create big value for the produce industry.
Value-added fruits and vegetables contributed $4.4 billion in revenue last year, an increase of 2.7% over 2019, according to the report.
Value-added fruit sales amount to 3.7% of total produce sales, and value-added vegetable sales amount to 2.5%.
Most of the dollars for fruit are in the snacking segment, while most of the dollars for vegetables are in the meal prep segment. Value-added fruit sales overall were more than $2.6 billion, down 1.2% from 2019, and value-added vegetable sales were more than $1.7 billion, up 9.2% from 2019.
“Fruit sales during the year were likely impacted by SKU rationalization, reductions in on-site preparation workforce, and less of a need for convenient packaging such as in work and school lunches,” United Fresh wrote in the report.
“The success of meal prep shows that consumers are willing to pay more for convenience.”
The top categories within value-added produce are watermelon ($724 million), mixed fruit ($550 million), mixed vegetables ($427 million) and pineapples ($423 million).
The biggest growth categories were broccoli (up 20.6% to $304 million), celery (up 4.9% to $132 million) and carrots (up 6.5% to $176 million).
On the other side of the coin, the biggest declines came in apples (down 19.8% to $114 million), mixed fruit (down 12.3% to $550 million) and fruit salad (down 6.1% to $110 million).
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