Fresh Trends 2023: A look at celery sales
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.
Celery is one of the powerhouses of the vegetable category, positioned just behind salad and ahead of mushrooms and sweet corn in Fresh Trends 2023 rankings.
Thirty-seven percent of consumers polled said they purchased fresh celery in the past year, down from 40% in Fresh Trends 2022 and down from 43% in Fresh Trends 2021.
As with nearly every commodity tracked by Fresh Trends, higher-income consumers reported a higher level of celery purchases compared to shoppers with lower income.
Forty-six percent of consumers earning more than $100,000 a year reported celery purchases in the past year, compared with 28% for those earning less than $25,000 annually.
Celery consumption has been stable to slightly lower in the past decade or so, the USDA reports. 2011 per capita retail celery availability was 5.56 pounds, dropping by 10% to 4.97 pounds in 2019.
Celery average fob prices were substantially higher in 2022 compared with 2021, the USDA reports; the 2022 average of $24.01 per carton nearly $9 per carton higher than the fob average of $15.82 per carton in 2021.
The average retail promoted price of celery also was up, with the 2022 average of $1.02 per unit being 9% higher than the 2021 average promoted price of 94 cents per unit, the USDA said.
Consumers with no kids at home (41%) reported a higher purchase rate than consumers with kids at home (33%), Fresh Trends 2023 found.
Consumers in the West were the most frequent purchasers of celery (42%), followed by the Midwest (40%), the South (35%) and the Northeast (34%).
Older consumers were more than twice as likely to purchase celery compared with the youngest consumers. Fifty-four percent of consumers aged 60 and older said they purchased celery in the past year, compared with only 22% for those in the 18-29 age bracket.
