A representative Kaufland survey shows that cabbage is Germany's favorite vegetable in winter. But carrots, peppers and tomatoes also help many Germans through the cold months. Northern Germans are currently paying particular attention to freshness when buying vegetables, while in the south a lot of value is placed on regionality. And - in the east, more people eat vegetables every day than in the west. Northern Germans in particular love cabbage.
For almost 47.7 percent of respondents, cabbage is the favorite vegetable in winter. This is the result of a survey conducted by Kaufland, in cooperation with the opinion research company Civey. Most cabbage lovers live in Schleswig-Holstein (55.2 percent). Lower Saxony (54.1 percent) and Thuringia (54.4 percent) also particularly enjoy eating cabbage in winter. Only in southeastern Bavaria does the carrot displace the cabbage.
Germans don't want to go without tomatoes, peppers and the like in winter
However, many consumers also have vegetables on their shopping lists that are not in high season. Carrots (39.1 percent) take second place in the Germans' winter vegetable ranking. It is followed by the bell bell pepper (33.8 percent) and the tomato (30.7 percent).
"These results are also reflected in our Kaufland stores. Many vegetable varieties are also in demand during the winter months. To this end, we have intensified our cooperation with German vegetable growers in order to have, for example, tomatoes, lettuces or herbs from Germany in the market all year round," says Stefan Lukes, Managing Director Purchasing Fruit and Vegetables at Kaufland. In the near future, the grocer will also offer peppers from Germany for longer in the year. Kaufland is thus in line with the trend. After all, more than half of Germans (55.4 percent) consider it important that vegetables are grown in their region all year round.
Freshness and regional origin top priority
People in the north pay particular attention to freshness when buying vegetables in the current season. In Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, regionality is the most important purchasing criterion on the vegetable shelf. The issues of sustainability (26.2 percent) and less packaging material (19.2 percent) also play a role. Organic vegetables are significantly more relevant for city dwellers (30.8 percent) than for people living in rural areas (23.6 percent).
East Germans eat vegetables most often
How many days a week do people in Germany eat peppers, tomatoes and the like? The majority three times a week (19.1 percent). They are followed closely by daily vegetable eaters (18.0 percent). 17.1 percent of respondents eat vegetables five days a week.
Interestingly, 23.5 percent of respondents from eastern Germany said they eat fresh vegetables every day, even in winter. In the west, the figure is only 16.5 percent.
Women eat vegetables more often, men prefer salad more often
When it comes to winter vegetables, cabbage tops the list for both sexes. While women also prefer carrots (41.6 percent) and peppers (35.1 percent), men prefer to eat tomatoes (32.8 percent) in addition to carrots (36.5 percent). Interesting: In winter, more men favor lettuce (22.6 percent) than women (15.0 percent).
Almost one in four women (22.9 percent) said in the survey that they eat vegetables every day. In contrast, only 12.8 percent of men do so. Most men eat vegetables 3 days a week (21.8 percent). One in ten men (11.6 percent) eat vegetables only once a week or not at all.
[ Polling company Civey surveyed 5,000 people on behalf of Kaufland, between February 8 and 10, 2022. The results are representative of the German population aged 18 and over. The statistical error of the overall results is 2.5 percent. ]
For more information: kaufland.de