Play up the pluses

Fresh fruit and vegetables make up around the majority of the fruit and vegetable segment, and the fresh portion is growing. According to “Vegetables — US,” a June 2015 report from global market research company Mintel, fresh vegetables account for 87.8 percent of the vegetable market. Sales of fresh vegetables grew 20.1 percent from 2010 to 2015, while sales of frozen and canned vegetables increased only 2.8 percent during the same timeframe.

Fresh fruit, meanwhile, accounts for 91 percent of the fruit market, Mintel notes in its August 2015 “Fruit — US” report. Sales of fresh and frozen fruit rose 24.5 percent from 2010 to 2015, while sales of shelf-stable fruit fell 7.8 percent during the same timeframe.

There is good news, however, for frozen and canned vegetables and shelf-stable fruit. They are seen as convenient options among parents and millennials. Retailers need to show consumers, through better labeling, that canned and frozen options can be healthful and nutritious.

“Consumers think that non-fresh vegetables are too processed and/or have inferior taste, presumably as compared to their fresh counterparts,” Mintel notes in its vegetable report. “Yet todays frozen and canned/jarred vegetable labels often tout basic nutritional facts but otherwise too often stick to the basics without any marketing to reassure consumers.”

And in its fruit report, Mintel says that parents and millennials enjoy the convenience and taste of non-fresh fruit options, but “marketers must act urgently here to innovate with low-sugar, all-natural or organic, minimally processed products targeted to these demographics who are already very actively consuming fruit in various forms — snack bars, yogurt, drinks — outside the core fruit market.”

Andy Russick, vice president of sales and marketing for Pacific Coast Producers, Lodi, Calif., says those busy parents and millennials want natural and nutritious products. And they want convenience, which is where canned fruit and vegetables can become relevant.

Tomato is a good example, with fire-roasted or with added flavors,” he says. “Anything that can add more value to the product for the customer, that takes them closer to a final meal, is big.”

Retailers, Russick says, could also push the quality of store brand products, which is key in canned and frozen foods.

“The most important thing a store brand can do right now is put quality first,” he says. “Store brands right now — I can’t think of a customer of mine that isn’t putting a lot of emphasis on the quality of their products. It used to be all about the price.”

Canned and frozen products also offer the ability to keep longer, allowing for cheaper bulk purchases that wouldn’t be possible with fresh products.

“You can’t buy a 20-pound bag of potatoes because you won’t use them all, but you can buy a [frozen] product that has 10 bags of potatoes with 2 pounds each and use them as you need them,” says a spokesman for an importer of frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.

Give a preview

Frozen and canned fruit and vegetables also can use packaging to fight against stigmas associated with the products, as well as play on the conveniences offered.

Russick says that not all cans are created equally. Convenience with canned goods means cans that are stackable and easy to open.

“What you’re going to see over the next couple of years is the packaging is going to change. You’re going to see re-sealable cans,” he says.

Also, Russick says consumers are drawn to cans with pull-tabs. Even better are colored pull-tabs, which he says instantly attract the eye to the product. While convenient, the tabs also put customers at ease over sanitation issues.

“They feel like a can opener is dirty, and they don’t like sticking fingers into the can to pull the lid out of the product,” he says.

Outside the frozen realm, consumers sometimes think of frozen fruit or vegetables as being packed with ice crystals, which harm the food. But freezing processes today often keep ice crystals at bay and preserve products’ nutritional value.

“We’re starting to see in the frozen aisle clear packaging or windows so the consumers can see what they’re buying,” notes Phil Lapp, director of marketing at Hanover Foods, Hanover, Pa.

He adds that packaging should play up any organic, all-natural or GMO-free claims that can be made. He says those characteristics aren’t trends for Generation X and millennial shoppers — they’re part of their lifestyles.

Market the benefits

Mintel’s vegetable report says that more than half of consumers see frozen and canned fruits and vegetables as convenient, but retailers should do more to make that clear in stores.

“While frozen brand marketers have exploited convenience well, the shelf-stable canned/jarred vegetable segment is lackluster and in need of a reboot,” Mintel’s report says. “The perception of convenience is likely already there, but marketers must sell this feature.”

Retailers should also work to show consumers that canned and frozen options are healthy and safe. Mintel says more than half of consumers are concerned about GMOs in vegetables, and nearly half say they would buy canned or frozen products that can make a health claim such as being high in fiber.

“Every possible callout they can do, they should. That’s what all the people in their 30s and 40s with all the money care about,” Russick says.

He adds that retailers should tailor their store brand products to their customer base.

“We see some mistakes when stores try to cast too wide a net. Instead of being all things to everyone and being average, you can be exceptional in a few places to become a destination for your customers,” Russick says.

Finally, keeping store brand and national brand products together can help consumers who want to more easily compare the two. They may find that the products are similar enough to switch to a store brand, as long as retailers make that comparison easy.

“The customer doesn’t want to pick up a can of corn here and then walk 10 feet to compare it to another,” the importer spokesperson stresses.

Do innovate with low-sugar, all-natural or organic shelf-stable and frozen fruit.

Don’t discount the label as a tool to educate consumers about product benefits.

Do consider packing frozen fruit and vegetables in windowed packaged.

Don’t cast too wide of a net when it comes to product development.