Continued interest in health and wellness at foodservice calls for more and bigger portions of produce on the plate.
“A majority of consumers say they’re planning on eating more fruits and vegetables this year for health reasons,” says Samantha Des Jardins, content marketing manager for Datassential, citing Datassential’s Healthy Food Trends 2024 report. “Younger generations tend to be more aware of these emerging trends and are more likely to try something new.”
“The wellness category continues to be a driver with millennial and Gen Z customers,” says Mark Shaw, vice president of operations at Markon Cooperative, Inc. {{BB #:123315}} in Salinas, CA, “but also with older demographics looking to remain healthy longer.
“Flexitarianism—using smaller portions of animal products and high-fat ingredients, like bits of bacon or fried egg toppers, as flavor enhancers, while shifting the focus to fresh produce—is becoming mainstream,” he adds.
Shaw says this trend also benefits foodservice operators by reducing expensive meat portions and increasing more budget-friendly fruit and vegetable ingredients.
“Everyone is looking for new everything,” says Harris Cutler, president and CEO of grower and distributor Race-West Company BB #:156704 in Clarks Summit, PA. But he notes that much of the innovation seems to be focused on characteristics like high yields and longer shelf life rather than taste, which is what foodservice patrons are looking for.
Exceptions include grapes, mini tomatoes, new lettuce varieties, and to a degree stone fruit, where better tasting new introductions are the norm.
In potatoes, while russets continue to reign supreme in overall sales, there has been steady growth and interest both in foodservice and at retail for yellow and red potatoes, which have seen growth of 6.7 percent and 0.3 percent in 2023, respectively, according to Rachel Atkinson-Leach, vice president of brand and category excellence at RPE, LLC, a shipper of potatoes and onions in Bancroft, WI, BB #:105471.
Cutler agrees that yellow potatoes are particularly strong, and predicts that within the next decade, half of all potatoes sold will be yellow-fleshed.
Foodservice showed mild growth in whole fresh potatoes as well, likely driven by the overall increase in fine dining volume along with the trend for nostalgia, and in refrigerated prepped potatoes due to the need for operational simplification, Atkinson-Leach notes.
This is an excerpt from the feature story of the July-August issue of Produce Blueprints Magazine. To read the whole issue, click here.
