EU: Attracting consumers with a holistic approach

Fresh fruit and vegetables offer to consumers a lot of benefits, with respect to nutrition and health or the environment for example. However, consumers are taking them for granted and other sectors are increasingly abusing the positive image of fresh produce for their own marketing purposes. Besides a robust, pro-active advocacy of these positive benefits, the sector needs to simultaneously promote even more the inherent properties of fresh produce, namely taste, texture, quality and the sheer pleasure of enjoying a fresh fruit or vegetable. A truly holistic approach from the industry is needed to raise consumption levels all across Europe.

European consumers have started in the last number of years to recognise more and more the specific benefits fresh fruit and vegetables offer. According to figures from a Eurobarometer survey (N° 246), 58% of European citizens believe that a healthy diet means eating more fruit and vegetables. Indeed, fresh produce has a critical role to play in the prevention of chronic diseases such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. The majority of European citizens (83% according to Eurobarometer Survey N° 256) also considers the impact of a product on the environment when deciding which product to buy. Various recent studies have shown that consuming fruits and vegetables represents an environmentally friendly way of feeding the world’s rising population. Furthermore, the fresh produce sector is rightly recognised as having been pro-active in developing sustainable agricultural practices to meet the evolving requirement for refinements and improvements across the supply chain.

Given the positive image associated with fresh produce, agri-businesses are increasingly seeking to associate themselves with these positive attributes. Freshfel’s “Where is the fruit” study from 2010 (http://www.enjoyfresh.eu/php/didyouknow/index.php?doc_id=30) demonstrated that only 17% of a range of food products depicting fresh produce on their packaging effectively contained more than 50% of fruit. Ramon Rey, Freshfel’s President, commented: “Food products which try to increase their sales through taking over our image prove that fresh fruit and vegetables possess assets others want to have. It is important for our sector to further emphasise these, but as consumers take them more and more for granted, our sector needs even more to stress taste, texture, quality and the pleasure to eat fresh produce. Freshfel will therefore embrace a truly holistic approach through the build-up of a strong and effective pan-european „Enjoy Fresh‟ platform. It is time for some fresh impetus, which will come together with Freshfel‟s 10th anniversary and be launched officially at the next AGM in June. Such a platform requires the support of all in the chain, but also the specialised media for the fruit and vegetables business and public authorities. „Enjoy Fresh‟ will ultimately aim to bring all stakeholders together and cover and promote the many reasons why one should „enjoy fresh‟.”

The majority of Europeans (58% according to Eurobarometer survey N° 354) associate food and eating indeed to a large extent with selecting fresh and tasty foods. Philippe Binard, General Delegate of Freshfel, stated: “Fresh fruits and vegetables offer everything consumers are demanding, however it seems they are not aware of all of these aspects or have unfortunately another image in mind. Joint efforts of the whole sector are therefore needed to rectify this incomplete picture consumers are having about our products. On a pan-european level Freshfel is working continuously to assist the industry in stimulating consumption all across Europe, and will this year through some reinforced but also some new activities and initiatives seek to generate an additional boost for the fresh produce business. On a political level, Freshfel is currently in talks with the European Commission, looking for public policies that could influence consumers towards healthier eating habits and lead to a positive market environment for the fresh produce industry.”

For more information, please visit: www.freshfel.org