Executives in all segments of fresh produce continue to grapple with changes in the industry, including more frequent extreme weather events, high prices impacting suppliers and consumers, an evolving labor pool, and the integration of artificial intelligence, among other trends. Here’s what they’re thinking at the start of 2025 and a look at the months ahead.
Marketing trends
In marketing, like in fashion, anything old can be new again. “Newstalgia,” or putting a modern spin on classic products to capitalize on Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s interest in nostalgia, is a trend across all retail.
“I see it everywhere now,” says Lori Taylor, founder and CEO of Indianapolis, IN-based The Produce Moms BB #:366223. “Produce is so well positioned to take advantage of this trend—it could be as simple as retro packaging. But it’s also really thinking about how to hit the nostalgia chord while offering something new.”
Taylor says commonplace varieties such as five-pound bags of potatoes, onions, celery, carrots, grapes, and apples are especially relevant.
“They’re not necessarily exotic or new,” she explains. “You’re taking things you remember from grandma’s kitchen and making them the showcase.” The Produce Moms helped client Duda Farm Fresh Foods address this trend by creating contemporary takes on recipes for nostalgic dishes like egg salad and tuna salad.
“I love anything that gives the customer inspiration on how to use the product in an appealing way,” comments Ashley Nickle, consultant and project manager at Ashley Nickle Growth Strategies, LLC in Kansas City, MO.
She cites the examples of Bolthouse Farms’ value-added carrots being marketed for specific occasions, including a Shakers option with seasoning for fresh snacking, a Soup & Stewin’ option that’s ready to cook, Sizzlers varieties with sauce, as well as hot or cold salad options from Fresh Express and Noodle Meal Kit lineup.
The story behind produce continues to create an incentive to purchase. “You can see who picked your produce—it’s not a random conveyor belt,” says Megan McCarthy, chef and founder of Healthy Eating 101, based in Atlanta, GA, who is an Ambassador in Action for the Foundation for Fresh Produce BB #:157162.
“It brings the face and name and story; consumers enjoy learning about that path.” She adds telling the story of how a variety was developed can also be effective. “The more they know makes them want to try it.”
Whatever the marketing message, social media platforms ranging from online forums such as Reddit to social media platforms like TikTok are critical to getting the message out, in combination with other touchpoints such as coupons and retail media networks. “Influencer culture can really be powerful,” confirms McCarthy.
Taylor thinks ecommerce is a sometimes-neglected platform.
“It’s a great opportunity to further engage and educate consumers to eat more fruits and vegetables,” she says, mentioning a recent partnership with Walmart that identified nutritious and sustainably packaged items online and in Walmart’s mobile app with a “The Produce Moms Approved” seal. Brand partners included NatureSweet, Wada Farms, Crunch Pak, Sage Fruit, Duda Farm Fresh Foods, Naturipe Farms, and Envy Apples.
Precise health messages resonate
Many consumers are seeking items to address specific ailments or health goals. The Produce Moms recently hired dietitian and author Jaclyn London to help its brand partners and the industry incorporate more granular health messages into marketing materials.
Caryn Dugan, founder of the Center for Plant-Based Living in St. Louis, MO, sees two specific health trends being embraced by consumers. The first is gut health, where produce companies can take a page from consumer packaged goods companies.
“It’s just about the fiber, and that’s only in plants,” she explains. “Do what the supplement companies are doing—they’re using these words to push a product that gets its benefits from plants.”
She cites the example of cabbage, which has abundant fiber, whether fresh or fermented. “If you tied it to gut health, with a slogan on the package and maybe a recipe and a UPC code for more information, you would sell so much more.”
The second trend is mushrooms, which are all over the store in supplements, beverages, skin care, and other categories, while the varieties of fresh mushroom available in supermarkets has expanded beyond button, portobello, and shiitake to more unusual varieties like Lion’s Mane.
“They have wonderful health benefits and you can make simple plant-based recipes that are crazy, crazy good,” raves Dugan. She says an episode of her and Dr. Jim Loomis’ YouTube series, The Chef & the Doc, which was created for Phillips Mushroom Farms and focused on the health benefits of mushrooms along with providing a recipe, received plenty of traction.
Prior to the pandemic when the keto diet was peaking in popularity, sales of fruit were in decline due to worries about the amount of sugar.
Zak Laffite, president of Wonderful Citrus BB #:115157 in Delano, CA, says this perception has changed.
“We’ve had 13 consecutive months of year-on-year growth in citrus, with mandarins and limes the real stars,” he says. “The quality of mandarins has been outstanding and really makes a difference in sales. It’s a reminder that if the product is consistently good, they’ll come back for more.”
Similarly, Jim Roberts, president of sales for Naturipe Farms, LLC BB #:116078 in Salinas, CA, says, “We’re expecting to see the demand for healthy, fruit-focused snack products grow. Thanks to technological advancements in packaging and transporting, fresh berries can last longer than ever in a sealed package, helping to bring fresh snacking to customers nationwide.”
This is an excerpt from the cover feature of the January/February 2025 issue of Produce Blueprints magazine. To read the whole issue, click here: https://www.producebluebook.com/#january-february-2025-produce-blueprints/1/
