Fresh Trends 2023: A look at bulk lettuce buyers

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.

The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey found that lettuce is a big part of many consumers’ fresh produce purchases.

Measuring bulk lettuce purchases (not packaged), Fresh Trends 2023 found that 41% of all consumers said they purchased bulk lettuce in the past year. That is off from 43% in Fresh Trends 2022 and down from 46% in Fresh Trends 2021.

Higher-income shoppers generally reported more frequent bulk lettuce purchases than other income groups. In the Fresh Trends 2023 survey, 42% of shoppers earning more than $100,000 a year indicated bulk lettuce purchases, compared with 46% for those making between $50,000 and $100,000 annually, 38% for those earning between $25,000 and $50,000 a year and 38% for those earning less than $25,000 annually.

Head lettuce and leaf lettuce have been showing contrasting consumption trends. The USDA reports fresh leaf lettuce per capita availability was 10.04 pounds retail per capita in 2014, rising to 11.49 pounds in 2019. On the other hand, per capita retail availability for head lettuce dropped from 13.48 pounds in 2014 to 11.78 pounds in 2019.

Because of weather and pest conditions, lettuce markets were elevated in 2022; the USDA reported the average price for romaine lettuce in 2022 was $32.33 per carton, up from $16.80 per carton in 2021.

Fresh Trends 2023 survey results show equal buying patterns for bulk lettuce between men (41%) and women (42%). Consumers with no kids at home were substantially more frequent purchasers of bulk lettuce (45%), compared with 36% of consumers with kids at home.

Fresh Trends 2023 showed that consumers in the West (44%) and Midwest (45%) were more frequent buyers of bulk lettuce at retail than consumers in the South (38%) and Northwest (39%).

Older consumers purchased bulk lettuce more often than younger consumers. Fresh Trends 2023 found that more 50% of consumers aged 50 and older reported purchasing bulk lettuce in the past year, compared with just 32% of those aged 18-29, 36% in the 30-39 age group and 38% of those from 40-49 years old.

White/Caucasian (44%) and Asian (55%) consumers more frequently said they purchased bulk lettuce in the past year, compared with 28% for Black/African American consumers and 40% of Hispanics shoppers.