The fresh produce consumption conundrum

Global fruit and vegetable consumption is declining, making it one of the most significant challenges facing the fresh produce industry.

It’s a challenge no one company can address on its own and on Day Two of the Asiafruit Knowledge Centre, Rijk Zwaan brought together leaders from across the trade to discuss how industry can work collaboratively with key government bodies, health organisations, and retail partners to educate consumers and stimulate demand.

Jan Doldersum, Rijk Zwaan’s programme leader of consumer partnerships, led the session, opening with a presentation to set the scene, detailing why it is so important to drive consumption. 

From a business perspective, increased consumption grows the total fruit and vegetable market, creating bigger sales and trade opportunities. But the benefits extend to consumers and the community as well. Nutritional, more sustainable diets positively contribute to healthier people and a sustainable planet.

Doldersum argued that to effectively grow consumption, the fresh produce industry needed to engage with stakeholders outside of the value chain because that is where demand is shaped. 

Excellence from farm to fork is not enough, and he said partnerships with other sectors including government, research, media, education, sports and health would be crucial to changing behaviours.

Following Doldersum, Wayne Prowse of Fresh Intelligence Consulting shared some fresh produce consumption data from Asia’s top markets. He noted fruit consumption, particularly outside of China is quite low compared with Western markets. However, there was a strong culture of incorporating vegetables into meals which provided a positive foundation for further growth.

Sharing strategies 

Doldersum was then joined on stage by a panel of industry leaders from across Asia and the globe, including Miriam Wolk of the International Fresh Produce Association (US), Tracey Lam of Aquagreen (Hong Kong), Frank Kang of Del Monte (Korea), Peter Zhu of Pagoda (China) and Sumit Saran of SS Associates (India).

The discussion on how to boost fruit and vegetable consumption in Asia was separated into three topics: Barriers, drivers, and solutions.

In examining the barriers to increasing consumption, Kang highlighted some of the key considerations.

“There are three key factors,” he said. “Firstly, convenience. Secondly, accessibility. Thirdly, price.” 

Kang said incorporating produce into other foods, or making it easier to consume with fresh-cut formats aided convenience. Having a strong supply chain, which can aid things like 30-minute grocery delivery supported accessibility and having the right price would encourage consumers to choose produce. “There is no such thing as a good product with cheap prices,” he said, noting it’s not just about making produce cheaper. 

When it came to the drivers of fresh produce consumption, storytelling was one the fresh produce industry is poised to harness, according to the panel.

“(Storytelling) is so key for our industry,” said Wolk. “We do have an uphill battle, if we’re looking at other food groups, they’ve got significantly more shelf space, they’ve got significantly more financial resources to do that storytelling. But we have a really amazing story about our products.

“How do we do a better job as an industry with the grant and the limited resources and the marketing dollars that we have to share that story. The real opportunity is getting consumers, no matter where you are in the world, at a young age before their eating habits are set.

“How globally do we start with children so that they start having core memories around fruits and vegetables? So, as they are growing up and becoming the decision makers, that they’re making that choice.”

Lam said education extended beyond the next generation, consumers need to be educated at the shelf as well about seasonality, provenance and sustainability so that they would choose fresh produce. 

“The strongest driver is education. Everybody knows that fresh produce is healthy, but how do consumers choose a product? You have to prove to the consumer that it is value for money,” Lam said.

For solutions, collaboration was a strong theme from the panel’s discussions, as was knowing your market.

Saran said a market like India was so diverse that a blanket approach to any strategy would not be effective, but he pointed to avocados as an example of how consumption could be developed.

“The World Avocado campaign launched three years ago and India has gone from a place that imported less than 500 tonnes to now importing 25,000 tonnes. So, the more we speak, and speak the correct language to the audience that matters, we’ll succeed. I really believe in the three Ps: partner, promote and persevere,” Saran said.

Of all the potential collaboration partners, government was identified as the most important to turning the tide in fresh produce consumption. 

“Strong relationships globally with government are critical because they can be your biggest partner and also your biggest challenger in terms of being able to have product move to markets,” said Wolk.

“Whether it’s investment in production, investment in support of imports and exports, or accessibility to populations that may not have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, often government support is critical to that.”