Taste Drives Consumer Produce Consumption Trends

A trip to California last month has brought Sun Sprout Ltd completely up-to-date with the latest research in consumer produce consumption trends and provided a lot of ideas for new tasty produce products.

Sun Sprout Managing Director Stephen Dench joined more than 1,500 chefs, menu developers, restaurant owners and other food service professionals at the annual Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Foodservice Conference & Exposition in Monterey California on the 15th of July to learn about the latest developments in fresh produce marketing. The conference marked the 25th anniversary of the PMA’s Foodservice Conference & Exposition, which remains the only event dedicated to fresh produce in the foodservice industry.

Stephen says, “Attending the show gave us a good understanding of what consumers are actually wanting from produce and will help us immensely in our future product development. Although the conference was primarily focused on foodservice, the trends in this industry generally relate to all produce consumption and are frequently a forerunner for future trends in retail.”

One of the strongest trends highlighted by the research presented at the conference was the importance of taste.

Stephen says, “The research clearly showed that taste is the primary driving factor in fresh produce consumption and is closely followed by convenience. These two factors, along with optimal freshness, have always been our main objectives with all our product developments at Sun Sprout and we are confident we can continue encouraging consumers to eat more produce by providing tasty and convenient fresh food choices that are really good to eat.”