Over the last four years a quiet revolution has been taking place within the fresh produce aisles. The prepared fruit category, for a long time a forgotten cousin of the sector, has transformed itself into a driver of growth and value for the retailer and supplier alike.
While there were always retailers who ranged high-quality lines in attractive fixtures, the general trend in the past was to place unimaginative packs in poorly-lit fixtures, often in plastic trays, and treat price as the main driver of sales growth.
This tended to result in uninspiring fixtures selling mainly solo packs of pineapple, melon or basic fruit salads using orange, apple and grape as additional ingredients. As a result, consumers who wanted a tasty and healthy alternative to traditional, non-fruit snacks or desserts were poorly served and stayed away.
The story today, in most cases, could not be more different. Fixtures are brightly lit, price points are clear and packs are designed around consumers’ desire to eat on the move. In addition, there has been a transformation in the types of fruit being used within these products. Where berries, mango and pomegranate were previously used, they were inconsistently available and often poor quality. Today these fruits are driving much of the category’s growth as suppliers are now able to supply a high-quality, year-round offer of these ingredients and improve shelf life to match.
To achieve these gains, the category has seen a significant amount of pack innovation, a number of key examples of which stand out. The first is the development of seasonal, limited-run packs. The category has previously been dominated by fruits which were easy to purchase year-round – this suited both manufacturers and made ranging straightforward for the retailers. Recently there has a been a proliferation of exciting short-run lines which focus on best-in-season fruits. This has allowed for fruits, such as cherry, fig or passionfruit to be included in the category where they were hardly seen before.
The last few years have seen the launch of fridge packs; larger resealable lines which allow the consumer to be able to utilise more effectively single ingredient fruits such as mango or pineapple. Where much prepared growth has come from giving the consumer a dessert or snack option, these packs have refreshed the more traditional single ingredient part of the market.
Finally, the category has seen the introduction of a number of ingredients which were previously deemed to be unsuitable for prepared packs. PrepWorld has been at the forefront of this, launching both raspberries and bananas into the category. The first a challenge of finding the right varieties which could withstand the rigours of the process, the second required a significant development of the technical methodologies to effectively utilise newly-available processes.
Today the UK’s prepared fruit category is seen globally as being truly market-leading. This sea change has been driven by a willingness to take risks by all parties to deliver innovative packs based on a strong understanding of consumers’ needs. In the future the category will face further challenges; the Brexit decision has affected labour availability and increased raw material prices. The answer to these challenges will be to continue to serve the consumer through a combination of high quality, a competitive offer and smart innovation.
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