Fresh Trends 2023: Brussels sprouts consumption rises during past decade

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.

Seventeen percent of all consumers polled by The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey indicated they purchased Brussels sprouts in the past year.

That result was a little lower compared with Fresh Trends 2022, when 19% of all consumers said they purchased the vegetable in the previous year.

USDA statistics show that consumption of Brussels sprouts has increased substantially in the last decade, from 0.33 pounds per capita retail availability in 2011 to 0.78 pounds in 2019.

The average fob price for Brussels sprouts was reported by the USDA at $26.27 per carton in 2022, up 4% from $25.37 per carton in 2021.

The average advertised retail price for Brussels sprouts in 2022 was $3.21 per unit, according to USDA, up 7% from 2021. The number of stores promoting Brussels sprouts in 2022 totaled 143,612, down 3% from 148,278 in 2021.

Fresh Trends 2023 data shows that Brussels sprouts consumption was fairly even among demographic variables, but higher consumption was generally noted for higher-income, older consumers.