The produce sector preps for a snack attack

A push into the multibillion-dollar snacking market can generate tasty returns for produce merchandisers.

With more consumers snacking throughout the day in lieu of consuming three main meals, and many favoring healthy alternatives, the sector is ripe for a produce expansion, analysts said.

Research for the Power of Produce 2024 report published by Arlington, Va.-based FMI — The Food Industry Association reveals that there already is considerable shopper interest in produce snacking. Thirty-seven percent of consumers always or usually include fruits as a morning snack, while 22% do so for vegetables, the report states. In addition, 38% and 29%, respectively, always or usually include fruits and vegetables as an afternoon snack, and 36% and 23% do so for an evening snack.

But with 51% of produce shoppers indicating that it would be good to have more information on new ways to incorporate fresh fruit and vegetables in snacking, merchandisers that supply such data can generate boost business, analysts said.

Interest in snacking by the large base of younger shoppers underscores the opportunity for produce marketers, said presenters at the 2024 Organic Produce Summit in Monterey, Calif.

“Generation Z are preferring smaller meals or snacks throughout the day instead of larger meals,” said David Baxter, vice president of Yuma, Ariz.-based Bard Valley Date Growers. “It is all about snackification and less about the family meal.”

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Produce merchandisers also can attract more wellness-oriented consumers by contrasting fruits and vegetables with less healthy Doritos and other salty snacks, said David Bright, vice president of marketing for Grimmway Farms, a Bakersfield, Calif.-based carrot producer.

Emphasizing the health aspects of produce is critical for expansion, said Angela Hernandez, director of marketing for Trinity Fruit Co., a Fresno, Calif-based fruit grower, packer, and shipper. That includes spotlighting products that contain “healthy” sugars, such as peaches, she said. “Many people will start snacking differently when they realize that everything that they had been consuming has been very bad for them,” Hernandez said.

In addition to being healthy, the “perfect” snack will have an attractive flavor and be convenient and easy to consume, Bright said, which includes selections that shoppers can customize with a dip. “Spicy is a big trend, especially with younger consumers,” Baxter said.

Despite the attractiveness of produce snacking, garnering users still can be challenging, said Faith Garrard, executive director of fresh at Raley’s, a West Sacramento, Calif.-based grocery company which operates about 121 outlets in Northern California and Nevada. “There is a land of opportunity,” she said. “Children crave sweets and there is nothing sweeter than fruit. But it is a highly competitive market and a difficult uphill battle.”

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