The top 10 fruit and vegetables on Produce Market Guide

Here are the top 10 commodities searched for on Produce Market Guide in 2021.

10. Lettuce

Lettuce is a weekly purchase in many homes as it provides a base for salads, a topping for sandwiches and is an essential part of tacos and other entrees. Provide shoppers with plenty of lettuce options to create the most sales in the category.

9. Green bell peppers

Green bell peppers are the immature fruit of the bell pepper plant. They're blocky in shape, with three or four lobes, and have firm, thick walls with small seeds and a hollow interior. They have a grassy, slightly bitter flavor.

8. Dragon fruit

Also known as pitahaya, this 3-inch fruit is oblong with bright pink/red skin and large, leaf-like scales on its surface. Its flesh is white, juicy and filled with numerous tiny seeds. Another type is globe-shaped, 2½ inches in diameter, with skin covered in small clusters of spines that can be brushed off to reveal red, ripe fruit. There is also a yellow-skinned variety. The sweet fruit tastes similar to kiwifruit or pears; it's often juiced. The sweet flesh can be white or dark red to purple. White-fleshed fruit is available year-round, magenta-fleshed fruit is available June through October.

7. Maradol papayas

Maradol papayas are a large variety with an oval, somewhat irregular shape. They have vibrant dark green skins that turn yellow when the fruit is ripe, and sweet, golden to salmon-colored flesh that has a slight musky scent. They have small, round, shiny, edible black seeds. Maradol papayas are sometimes called Mexican papayas, as the majority of the fruit is grown in Mexico.

6. Bananas

Banana sales rebounded in 2020 from a slight dip in 2019, rising more than 3%. Bananas remain a staple in a majority of households, so piggyback on their popularity to move other fruits off your shelves.

5. Avocados

Tropical avocados are a large, pear-shaped fruit with skin that remains green even when ripe. Because of this characteristic they are also known as green-skin avocados. The fruit is very heavy, weighing up to a pound or more, and can reach a foot in length. The creamy-yellow flesh is more fibrous than that of other avocados, with high water content and a mild flavor. These avocados also have a significantly lower fat content and 1/3 the calories of non-tropical varieties.

4. Oranges

After falling in 2019, orange sales surged back in 2020, rising more than 30%. Oranges often form the backbone of larger citrus displays as they are popular across all age groups and demographics. Promote both the flavor and healthy benefits of the orange fruit.

3. Mangoes

Mangoes continue to grow in popularity with a sales increase of more than 15% in 2020. Education is key when increasing sales as slicing a mango can be daunting if you have never done it before.

2. Watermelon

Watermelon is a summertime favorite, but it can bring sales to your store throughout the year. Sales rose again in 2020, increasing by more than 13%, showing that while watermelon is popular, it hasn’t yet hit its peak.

1. Apples

Apple saw a slight increase in sales in 2020, remaining a perennial favorite with consumers. The ever-growing number of apple varieties creates marketing opportunities. Be creative and fun in your promotions to encourage shoppers to try something new.