Fresh Trends 2023: Nearly 2 of 3 consumers said they purchased potatoes last year

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 consumer research shows potatoes have an elevated perch among consumer fresh produce purchases.

Fresh Trends 2023 research indicated that 62% of consumers said they purchased potatoes in the past year, the same percentage as the previous year and down slightly from 63% in Fresh Trends 2021 research.

In Fresh Trends 2023, potatoes ranked only behind bananas among fresh produce items purchased most often by consumers.

Potatoes are popular with all income groups, according to Fresh Trends 2023 data. Sixty-four percent of consumers earning over $100,000 a year said they purchased potatoes, not much different than the 59% of consumers making under $25,000 annually who reported potato purchases.

Likewise, Fresh Trends 2023 research indicated both male and female consumers are active potato buyers: 60% of men and 63% of women said they purchased potatoes in the past year.

Perhaps surprisingly, Fresh Trends 2023 data shows that consumers with kids at home (55%) were less frequent purchasers of potatoes than consumers with no kids at home (66%).

By region, consumers from the Midwest polled by Fresh Trends 2023 represented well for potato purchases, with 70% buying fresh spuds in the past year. That compares with potato purchases by 59% of consumers in the West, 60% of consumers in the South and 57% of consumers in the Northeast, according to Fresh Trends survey data.

The age demographic showed significant variability in consumer potato purchases, according to Fresh Trends 2023.

A whopping 80% of consumers aged 60 and older reported potato purchases in the Fresh Trends 2023 survey, similar to 81% for that age group in Fresh Trends 2022 and 79% for oldest consumers in Fresh Trends 2021.

Seventy percent of consumers aged 50-59 polled in the Fresh Trends 2023 survey said they purchased potatoes, slightly above 68% in the 2022 survey and 69% in the 2021 survey.    

Fresh Trends 2023 data indicated that 53% of consumers aged 40-49 said they purchased potatoes, down from 67% for that age group in the 2022 survey and off from 58% in the 2021 survey.

Fifty-four percent of consumers aged 30-39 said they purchased potatoes in Fresh Trends 2023, up from 48% for that group in the 2022 survey but down from 59% in the 2021 survey.

The youngest age bracket, 18-29, showed a higher level of purchases (48%) in Fresh Trends 2023 compared with the 2022 survey (36%) but was similar to the 2021 survey (45%).

Sixty-seven percent of white/Caucasian consumers reported potato purchases in Fresh Trends 2023, compared with the 48% reported for Black/African American consumers, 51% for Hispanic shoppers and 61% for Asian consumers.