Plenty of room for growth in sweet potato demand

One in three people surveyed in The Packer's 2022 Fresh Trends report said they purchased fresh sweet potatoes in the past 12 months.

The survey of more than 1,000 consumers, conducted in late 2021, revealed that 33% of all those surveyed said they purchased fresh sweet potatoes in the previous 12 months. That 33% score tied with cantaloupe and was just ahead of green onions (31%), according to Fresh Trends data.

The USDA has reported retail per-capita availability of sweet potatoes has increased from 5.71 pounds in 2010 to 7.13 pounds in 2019. Still, with better than 60% of all consumers not reporting fresh sweet potato purchases in the Fresh Trends survey, there appears to be plenty of room to grow consumption in the years ahead.

The age of consumers was perhaps the biggest demographic variable for sweet potato consumption, according to Fresh Trends. Fifty-one percent of consumers older than 60 reported fresh sweet potato purchases, compared with 29% for those aged 50 to 59, 31% aged 40 to 49, 26% aged 30 to 39 and 19% aged 18 to 29.

Thirty-eight percent of consumers living in the West reported fresh sweet potato purchases in the 2022 Fresh Trends survey, compared with 29% for the Midwest, 30% for the South and 34% for the Northeast.

By income bracket, Fresh Trends reported consumption levels were fairly even. The survey found that 34% of consumers earning more than $100K said they purchased fresh sweet potatoes, compared with 35% for those making $50K-$100K, 34% making $25K-$50K and 27% making less than $25K.

By gender, 38% of women reported purchases of fresh sweet potatoes, compared with just 27% of men.

Only 27% of consumers with kids reported fresh sweet potato purchases, compared with 37% of consumers with no kids, according to the data.