STUDY: MOST LIKE BANANAS A BUNCH

ROSEANNE HARPER

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Retailers and others in the industry may be missing a bunch of opportunities to sell more bananas, according to new research from the International Banana Association.

Consumer attitudes toward bananas remain overwhelmingly positive and, based on usage patterns over all age groups, it appears there are big opportunities to further increase consumption, the data shows.

More than half (58%) of all respondents said they have a strong liking for bananas and nearly a quarter (24%) said they "love" bananas. What's more, a whopping 75% of principal shoppers indicated bananas represent a good-to-excellent value for the money.

"The particulars of shopping patterns point to opportunities for retailers to follow through in ways they may not have yet. Impulse displays, for instance, could be positioned to catch a particular age group," said Tim Debus, IBA's vice president.

Respondents indicated not only how many bananas they consume but also how they shop for bananas, and on what occasions they eat them. Young adults -- singles, and couples without children -- and teenagers don't eat as many bananas as other age groups, and they tend to buy them on impulse, the survey showed. So a secondary display, outside the produce aisle, or cross merchandised in the deli might glean additional sales by attracting the attention of that group, Debus said.

The research data indicated that parents and seniors, on the other hand, buy more bananas and are apt to put them on their shopping lists. They said they buy bananas "when there aren't any left at home."

Parents buy more bananas each week than any other age group, the survey showed. They buy bananas an average of 1.8 times a week. That's compared to 1.6 times a week across principal shoppers in all age groups. And, while the research shows customers in general buy one cluster of bananas at a time, nearly a quarter of parents with children at home buy more than eight bananas at a time.

But they might buy even more if they were reminded that a banana constitutes an easy, portable breakfast or snack, Debus said.

"Our research showed 60% of teens, young adults and parents indicated they had skipped breakfast at least once during the week. So a sign or anything that makes the connection between bananas and breakfast might increase sales. Retailers know their own markets and how best to reach them, but we wanted to provide them and the rest of the industry with data about consumption and current consumer attitudes that they could use. We tried to identify lifestyles that do, and will, impact banana consumption," Debus said.

What IBA found particularly heartening was that respondents across all age groups like bananas. In fact, the average respondent to the survey eats almost 13 bananas a month, or three pieces a week. And the data showed that bananas can be almost everything to everybody. Most respondents considered bananas healthy, agreeing with the statement, "I never feel guilty about eating bananas." Some saw them as a source of energy; others said they were a relaxing comfort food. Another attribute respondents mentioned was portability.

The survey showed bananas are predominately eaten in the morning at breakfast, for snacks and during workout/exercise periods. Sixty percent of respondents had eaten a banana for breakfast during the five-day week, which was higher than banana consumption at breakfast during the weekend. Seniors ate even more. More than 70% of them said they had eaten a banana for breakfast, and they indicated they're less apt to skip breakfast than other respondents.

The research was divided into two components. First, 32 consumers from four different markets were selected at random for two-hour, one-on-one interviews. The goal, Debus said, was to understand the basic motivational triggers and barriers to buying and eating bananas. Next, a questionnaire was constructed and presented by telephone to 800 consumers, who were divided into four categories: teens, young singles and couples without children, parents and seniors.

A summary of survey was presented at the United Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Association's Annual Produce Business Conference.