Year in Produce No. 4 — Packaging
The COVID-19 pandemic brought a new appreciation for packaging in produce.
“It was definitely a solid year for packaged items,” said Steve Lutz, senior vice president of insights and innovation for Category Partners. In the second week of December, Lutz said packaged produce dollars over the last 52 weeks increased by 14.5% compared to an increase of only 5.4% for bulk. “The packaged share of total produce dollars is now 54%, up from 52% in 2019.
Anne-Marie Roerink, principal of 210 Analytics, LLC, reported similar numbers in early December. She said fixed weight package produce sales increased 12.7% during the pandemic, compared with a 5.2% gain for random weight (bulk) produce.
When it comes to why demand for packaging increased so much in 2020, there are a number of plausible reasons why. Was packaging perceived a protection against the virus, an easy-to-grab convenience option, a bigger bang for the produce buck, or a way to grab more produce in one visit to limit shopping trips?
Roerink said it is important to keep in mind what the pandemic “powerhouses” were, including packaged salad, berries, potatoes, onions, mushrooms and oranges.
“Sure, some are sold loose, but many are packaged,” she said. “So the question is did people buy it because it was packaged or because they were versatile products they could use for their many more meals at home,” she said.
Lutz said the greater demand for packaged produce could reflect supply conditions, in addition to demand factors.
“What’s the chicken and what’s the egg? Are retailers are shifting more to packaging, because in a COVID environment, it is easier to put out bags (compared with) hand stacking bulk items?”
If retailers have shorter labor supplies, packaged produce can help save on costs, Lutz said.
On the consumer side, shoppers could be making the switch to because of a perceived food safety issue related to COVID, or perhaps because of wanting to grab produce easily and get out of the store.
“The growth rate is triple the level of (bulk) produce,” Lutz said. “Regardless being able to identify motivations of the trends, it is a real phenomenon,” he said.
Dec. 9
Sustainability remains priority for produce packaging
By Jim Offner
Produce suppliers are working with packaging manufacturers to limit the excess materials that wind up in the waste stream.
“This is still important to consumers, but at this time the demand is for fruit that is typically sold bulk to be in packages,” said Brianna Shales, senior marketing manager with Wenatchee, Wash.-based fruit grower-shipper Stemilt Growers LLC.
Stemilt recently introduced a 100% recyclable tote bag for bulk apples, Shales said.
“It’s a way to offer bulk fruit with a better ‘no touch’ experience that consumers want; plus we can offer that grab-and-go buy while driving up the average purchase size,” she said.
Top-seal technology is another near-term solution that uses around one-third less plastic in packages, said Nick Wishnatzki, marketing projects manager with Plant City, Fla.-based berry grower-shipper Wish Farms.
“Its popularity with retailers and consumers keeps growing,” Wishnatzki said.
“We believe top seal is a major trend that has staying power.”
Wish Farms also will be trying out compostable fiber containers on its blueberry packing line this season, using its current top seal technology, Wishnatzki said.
“We have identified some promising fiber-based prototypes and will continue to study their viability along the chain of production for strawberries, blackberries and raspberries,” he said.
March 13
40% of shoppers report changing produce purchases due to coronavirus
By Ashley Nickle
More than 40% of consumers say they are changing their fresh produce purchasing because of the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, according to a new survey commissioned by The Packer.
The survey polled more than 1,000 people on March 12 to get a better understanding of how shoppers are adjusting grocery shopping behaviors during the pandemic.
Nearly 20% of people said they are buying less fresh produce now and more frozen fruits and vegetables, and about 12% said they are buying less fresh produce and more canned
Roughly 14% said they are buying more fresh produce to try and be healthier in case they are exposed to the coronavirus. About 12% are buying more packaged fresh produce and less bulk to ensure that other shoppers hadn’t been touching the product while it was on display — although health officials have said there is no known transmission via food products.
Among consumers who said they are changing their fresh produce purchasing, 50% said they are concerned about people touching the produce on display. Thirty percent of the group said they are concerned about relying on fresh instead of stocking up with frozen because of the uncertainty generated by the coronavirus spread.
March 16
No reason to avoid fresh produce during outbreak
By Chris Koger
Purdue University’s Department of Food Science has a message for consumers: Don’t let a fear of the coronavirus COVID-19 to keep you from eating fresh fruits and vegetables.
And as fear and misinformation spread about the virus, produce industry groups are stepping up to inform consumers and industry as well. The United Fresh Produce Association has an industry webpage and a consumer webpage and the Produce Marketing Association page includes links to government and grocery industry sites and a video message from CEO Cathy Burns.
