1. Consumer and Innovation
Trends in Fruit, Vegetables, and
Pulses 2014
The latest trends in fruit, vegetables, and pulses
Category series. Published February 2014
Consumer Insight

2. 2
Meet the Author
I joined Datamonitor Consumer in April 2012 as an Analyst, specializing in consumer insight in the food and
drink sector.
I have almost a decade's experience in researching and analyzing consumer insight related to the food and
beverage industry, and have authored articles for several academic and industry publications, including the
British Food Journal. Before joining Datamonitor I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of
Reading, earning a first-class BSc degree in food marketing and business economics. I then went on to
complete my PhD in marketing at Kent Business School in the University of Kent, focusing on the impact of
price promotions on shopper behavior. Following completion of my PhD I continued as a researcher at Kent
Business School, using supermarket loyalty card data to provide consumer insight to small food and drink
businesses across the UK.
At Datamonitor I am involved with authoring several consumer insight products, including Consumer and
Innovation Trends category reports, Successes and Failures Case Studies, ForeSights, and Datamonitor's
flagship global consumer trends series, TrendSights.
Melanie Felgate, Analyst

3. Contents
1. Executive Summary
2. The Market: Where the Opportunities Lie
• Market snapshot
• Innovation snapshot
• Consumer snapshot
3. The Trends: Consumer and Innovation Insight
• Meeting targets
• "Super" stars
• Taste-friendly vegetables
• Flexitarianism
• Sugar avoidance
• "Snackification" of fruit and vegetables
• Cross-category migration
• Zero waste
4. The Future: What's Next in Fruit and Vegetables?
5. Appendix
Click on the title to go directly to the relevant section
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4. The Market
Consumer profile: fruit, vegetable, and pulse consumers
Source: Datamonitor's Consumer Survey, May/June 20134
82% 84% 87%85% 88% 91%
53% 52%
62%
Low Income Middle Income High Income
Income Gender
AgeTop countries
80%
85%
90%
83%
89%
93%
51%
57%
61%
18-34
35-54
55+
Market snapshot Innovation snapshot Consumer snapshot Opportunities
Global: consumers who consume "as much as possible" or "a moderate amount" of fruit, vegetables, and pulses, 2013
Looking
ahead...
Millennials and men will become an increasing focus of product innovation, as growers and manufacturers
seek to increase consumption among under-indexing segments.
Mexico
92%
China
93%
China
86%
Indonesia
91%
Mexico
92%
Mexico
84%
China
91%
Turkey
92%
S. Korea
78%
Fruit Vegetables Pulses

5. Sugar Avoidance
Consumers are cutting down on their fruit intake due to sugar concerns
Source: Datamonitor Consumer Survey, 2013; *Compared to other nutritional factors – please see datapack for full list.5
Insight On-trend innovation Case study Take-outs
Health concerns over sugar are affecting fruit consumption
Sugar is increasingly coming under the spotlight amid concerns
about its contribution to rising obesity rates and soaring levels of
type 2 diabetes. While the nutritional benefits of fruit are well
understood, many consumers are aware that they also contain
moderate levels of sugar. Those who are limiting their fruit
intake are the most likely to give highest priority to "low sugar"
claims when buying food and drink generally, indicating that the
sugar content is likely to be the reason behind limiting their fruit
intake. In light of this, fruit manufacturers are finding innovative
ways to reduce the sugar content of fruit-based food and drink,
as well as, conversely, using fruit (e.g. monk fruit) as a "natural"
alternative sweetener in sugary food and drinks.
Global: consumers who give highest priority to "low or no sugar"
when buying food and drinks*, segmented by fruit consumption,
2013
Looking
ahead...
Manufacturers must find innovative ways to reduce sugar content of fruit-based products, while retaining the
inherent "fresh" and "natural" attributes of fruit.
Sugar is associated with weight gain
66%of consumers think that sugar is "most likely" or
"very likely" to lead to weight gain (2013).

6. "Snackification" of Fruit and Vegetables
Vegetables and fruits resonate well with consumers looking to snack healthily
Fruit and vegetable lovers are more likely to snack healthily
Over half of consumers classified either as vegetable lovers* or fruit
lovers** regularly choose healthy snacks in between meals, putting them
above the global average of 45%. This indicates that current fruit and
vegetable product innovation may not be meeting the wider population's
snacking needs in terms of areas such as convenience and taste.
With fast-aging populations, there is also a growing opportunity for
manufacturers to tell those in the 55-plus age group that snacking can be
healthy, with more targeted fruit and vegetable snacks, which are
especially significant given that this demographic are more receptive to
fruit and vegetable consumption.
Source: Datamonitor Consumer Survey, 2013; *Consumers who eat as much vegetables as possible; **Consumers who eat as much fruit as possible. [1] NPD's Snacking in
America 2012 Report, quoted in Nation's Restaurant News, Jan 2013; Image: Shutterstock6
Insight On-trend innovation Case study Take-outs
Global: frequency with which consumers choose healthy
snacks between meals, 2013
Looking
ahead...
Efforts aimed at boosting vegetable and fruit consumption will continue to drive a new wave of innovation in
snacks, with fruits and vegetables showing up categories such as chips and popcorn.
#1Fresh fruit
was the most
frequently
consumed snack in
the US in 2012.¹
Americans prefer snacking on fruits
Global: consumers who think "snacking in-between meals
is unhealthy," 2013

7. Cross-Category migration
Examples we like: fruit and vegetables are migrating into new and unusual categories
Source: Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics7
Insight On-trend innovation Case study Take-outs
Vegetable enriched bread
Country Harvest Veggie Bread, Canada
• This bread is enriched with vegetables, in
flavors including carrot, celery, and leek;
and tomato, red pepper, and zucchini.
• The vegetables add both flavor and
nutritional benefits.
• The bread contains one serving of
vegetables in every slice, enabling
consumers to get more vegetables into
their everyday diets.
Fruit chips
Tyrrell's apple crisps, UK
• Available in plain and cinnamon flavors,
Tyrrell's has expanded from traditional
savory potato chips into sweet apple
varieties.
• Apple chips are lower in calories and
carbs than potato chips, offering a
consumers a healthier indulgence.
• The concept also challenges consumers'
perceptions of chips, offering a sweet
instead of savory flavor.
Vegetable candy
Meiji Kaju vegetable and fruit gummy
candy, Japan
• Made of 70% vegetable and 30% fruit
ingredients, this gummy candy contains
broccoli and carrots, as well as collagen.
• While fruit is a common flavoring and
ingredient in candy, it is new territory for
vegetables.