Market For Nutrition
Retailers need to show consumers that frozen fruit and vegetables are just as healthful as — if not more healthful than — their fresh counterparts.
What,s not to love about frozen and canned fruit and vegetables? Whether it's a can of peas added to a casserole or a bag of frozen fruit blended into a nutritious smoothie, frozen and canned fruit and veggies are a delicious and convenient way to add a boost of nutrients to any dish.
Trends with traction
On the frozen side, fruit and vegetables are facing "raging" competition from their fresh counterparts, notes Daniel Granderson, an analyst with the Packaged Facts division of Rockville, Md.-based MarketBesearch.com.
"In the current food environment, where 'fresh' has become the gold standard, a perception lingers among many consumers that frozen food products are inherently not as healthy as fresh foods," he explains.
Of course, this perception is flawed. On its website, the American Council on Exercise says store-bought fresh produce typically loses some of its nutritional value between the time it's picked and the time it's purchased. Produce destined for freezing, on the other hand, is picked at its maximum ripeness, quickly frozen to a temperature that maximally retains its nutritional value and flavor, and kept frozen until it reaches the grocer's freezer.
More and more consumers are coming to understand this truth, Granderson notes. Given this reality, an increasing number of retailers are realizing how essential it is to promote their frozen fruit and vegetables as being just as nutritional as their fresh counterparts.
Unfortunately though, retailers could have a tougher time marketing their canned fruit and vegetables as an alternative to their fresh counterparts. Granderson states that although they aren't primitive, canning methods haven't exactly made the leaps and bounds that freezing technology has in recent years.
"I think part of the real issue with canned foods and why they aren't regarded on the same level as fresh or even frozen foods is all the additives that often go into keeping foods edible for long periods of time while canned," he states. "The added salts, the syrupy/sugary solution that almost is the hallmark of canned fruit, etc. — those things hurt the perception of canned fruits and veggies."
Trends on the horizon
According to a February 2012 "Category Expert Insight" report from global market researcher Mintel, millennials — people age 18 to 34 — rank highest of all generational groups in agreeing that they should be eating more vegetables. And nearly four out of every 10 millennials would like to figure out how to add more veggies to their diet. Retailers shouldn't ignore this news, as the report says millennials account for about 25 percent of the U.S. population.
To reach these consumers, companies could appeal to their interest in trying new product concepts, the report suggests. Particularly in the canned and frozen vegetables space, ethnic innovation is "sparse." So products with exotic flavors and spices could appeal to this group.
"There is room for deeper exploration of spices and seasonings to capitalize on the stellar growth of ethnic cuisines and products," the report notes. "Millennial consumers express a high degree of interest in assertive products with chipotle, ancho, habanero, cumin and smoked paprika, suggesting Latin American flavor profiles for vegetables would be well accepted."