Consumer Trends | Produce Marketing Association

PMA's consumer information offers you valuable insights into the minds of your customers. Find out what influences consumer purchases, identify trends and patterns of consumers, and determine other ways that consumers influence the industry to determine the implications that affect your business.

Consumer Research

PMA provides critical consumer research for you to use to increase your sales of fresh fruits and fresh vegetables.

Consumer Perceptions

PMA's most recent consumer research offers you consumer insights and market place recommendations to ensure your success in today's fresh produce industry. As part of our ongoing effort to increase the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, PMA commissioned the Perishables Group to conduct research to gauge consumer attitudes towards packaged and loose/bulk produce. Use the insights and recommendations from PMA’s 2011 Consumer Attitudes Toward Packaged Fruits and Vegetables study, sponsored by Yerecic Labels, to determine how well your investments in current packaging solutions are meeting consumer preferences and expectations.

Identifying Consumer Trends in the Produce Category is our latest research report on consumer perceptions and behaviors by the Hartman Group.

PMA also commissioned the Perishables Group to focus on the key results and implications of our consumer research in a series of six articles. This series focuses on preferences for locally-grown produce in relation to shopping patterns and purchase behaviors, the evolution of value, as well as consumer value factors and economic recovery causing another shift, followed by significant changes between 2009 and 2010 survey results. Finally, the focus will shift to foodservice and any key changes that have occurred in the past year.

2011 Consumer Survey Report

Are you looking to understand how consumers rate organic products, locally grown produce or the high quality of fruits and vegetables? Do you understand how shoppers value available nutrition and health information? These are just a few of the many things you can discover about consumers in this year's 2011 Consumer Survey Report by the National Grocers Association.

Gen X and Gen Y Attitudes

PMA is a proud sponsor of PBH’s State of the Plate: 2010 Study on America’s Consumption of Fruits & Vegetables and is pleased to bring you the results of this consumer research performed by The NPD Group to examine trends in fruit and vegetable consumption among Americans. This report looks at how fruit and vegetable consumption has changed over the past 5 years, both in home and away from home; how attitudes differ between Gen X and Gen Y mothers; and how mothers perceive the Fruits & Veggies—More Matters message.

PMA's growing library of consumer research is free to members and includes the analysis you need to determine the business implications that affect your organization.

Consumption & Nutrition

Consumption and nutrition is a multi-faceted issue in the produce industry. It is well known that fruits and vegetables are nutrition powerhouses and are the cornerstone of a healthful diet, offering great benefits to public health and great marketing advantages to produce marketers.

Consumption Trends

Special Report: Defining A New Reality

PMA is proud to present Produce Retailer's special report, "Defining a New Reality", a six part consumer research series by The Perishables Group. This report allows you to understand changes in consumer buying habits, younger consumers and overall consumer reactions to retail strategies. This six part series of articles originally appeared in Produce Retailer’s January through June issues in 2010.

Economic Outlook

Is it the brand or the economy? It’s possible you already know what the Hartman Group is going to say by seeing these three brands in a title together: "Budweiser, US Airways and Blockbuster"; and while it’s unfair to kick a brand when it’s down, it’s also unfair when brands, and the companies behind them, blame the economy for their woes, read more in Bad Economy or Bad Brands?

So now that the economy is starting to recover, how will consumers react? Will they stay hunkered down in recession mode or return to the “carefree” spending days of the mid 2000’s? PMA's expert, Nancy Tucker, Vice President, Global Business Development believes we are coming into a phase called the “Practical Consumer.”

Organics

Can you prosper on the organic movement? The organic consumer tends to be young (under 35), have above-average income and have achieved high levels of education. Are you reaching them?

Healthy Eating Habits

Healthy eating appeals to all groups, but much more so for older age groups. The concept of using food as method for achieving “healthy aging” is a significant opportunity for the produce industry. Are you seizing the opportunity?