North America Edition
According to FMI’s 2021 Power of Produce report, sales of value-added lettuce and other fresh produce came to $15.5 billion, or 22.3% of total produce sales. This also means that he demand for salad kits and other fresh, convenient and healthy options continues to grow.
According to Tal Shoshan, CEO of California-based FiveStar Gourmet Foods, food safety concerns were at an all-time high and there was a strong demand for salad kits during the pandemic. For FiveStar, that translated into brisk movement of the company’s new Value Plus line of its Simply Fresh Salads, which addresses food safety concerns while also appealing to price-conscious consumers, Shoshan said.
During the height of the pandemic and with stay-at-home orders in effect, consumers were much more open to trying and experimenting with new items and this resulted in consumers doing more in-home scratch cooking. As the pandemic continued on, consumers looked for more convenient options to make their lives easier, especially as they became fatigued with cooking at home, and now have become accustomed to these more convenient options which they continue to seek out today.
Source: supermarketperimeter.com
