Fresh Trends 2023: 1 in 4 consumers report buying asparagus
Editor's Note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Twenty-six percent of consumers polled for The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey indicated they had purchased asparagus in the previous 12 months. That compares with 28% in the Fresh Trends 2022 and 27% in Fresh Trends 2021.
Fresh asparagus supply comes mainly from outside the U.S. border, with U.S. imports accounting for more than 90% of fresh asparagus supply in 2021.
Fueled by rising imports, retail per capita availability for fresh asparagus has grown in recent years, from 1.26 pounds in 2011 to 1.60 pounds in 2019.
However, USDA trade statistics for 2022 show the value of asparagus imports totaled $690 million, down 10% from 2021.
The average fob price for asparagus rose in 2022, the USDA reports, from $22.38 per carton in 2021 to $25.31 per carton in 2022.
Higher-income consumers were more frequent buyers of fresh asparagus, Fresh Trends 2023 reveals. Thirty-one percent of consumers making more than $100,000 a year said they purchased fresh asparagus, compared with just 20% of those making under $25,000 annually.
Shoppers with no kids at home (28%) were more likely to purchase fresh asparagus than consumers with kids at home (22%), according to Fresh Trends 2023.
The consumer survey found that regional differences in reported asparagus purchases ranged from 22% in the South, 25% in the Northeast, 26% in the West and 31% in the Midwest.
Like income, asparagus purchases varied by the age of shoppers, according to Fresh Trends 2023 data. Thirty-three percent of shoppers over age 60 said they purchased asparagus in the past year, compared with 28% for the 50-59 age group, 23% in the 30-49 age group and just 18% for those from 18-29.
Finally, Fresh Trends 2023 found that Asian (45%) and white/Caucasian (27%) consumers were most likely to purchase fresh asparagus, while Hispanic (22%) and Black/African American shoppers (19%) were least likely.
