Supermarket Perimeter - September 2022 - 13

" Fresh produce is doing remarkably well in the face of incredible
Another trend that peaked early on but has since slowed, Roerink
inflation and economic pressure, " Roerink said. " Both fresh fruits and
vegetables are boosting performance, though fruit is much stronger at
the moment. "
Early on in the pandemic, vegetable sales were tremendous as
cooking moved to the home, Roerink. In 2022, however, fruit is the clear
sales and growth leader. That said, economic conditions could give
fresh vegetable sales another boost in the near future, as consumers
retighten belts.
" We have seen a lot of strength for basic cooking vegetables in
the past few months, including potatoes and onions, " she said. " In
comparison to other categories, shoppers are seeing less impact of
supply chain shortages in produce. While some commodities are
obviously seeing big price inflation, availability in produce is much
better than the rest of the store. "
In the COVID Era, the produce industry has seen " a lot of patterns
come and go, " as Roerink puts it.
Initially, produce sales were heavily shifting towards vegetables, and
frozen and canned made big inroads as a percentage of total fruit and
vegetable dollars.
It took a few years, but fresh is back on top. In fact, she said, the fresh
share of total fruit and vegetable dollars is higher than it was prior to the
pandemic. (The supply chain disruptions frozen and canned are facing
is admittedly a big reason why, she added.)
said, is online purchases of fresh produce.
" Instead of people feeling out online shopping with center-store
purchases first, the entire basket moved from in-store to online,
including fresh, " Roerink said. " And today, online shopping for fresh
produce is definitely still ahead of the pre-pandemic levels, but we're
no longer seeing significant growth in the area, as many shoppers have
moved their purchases back to the store and farmers markets. "
Meal kits: opportunities and challenges
Meal kits could become a huge opportunity for produce departments to
successfully adapt in the new online world, Peterson said.
One huge barrier to that growth is the territorialism that often
plagues departments. Every one wants to credit for the sale if it includes
something from their department, which can make it hard to crossmerchandise
from different departments - pulling disparate items
together for a meal kit, for example.
" It's why you don't always see cabbage merchandised with corned
beef for St. Patrick's Day, " Peterson said, citing an extreme example of
the lack of cooperation that can plague the perimeter.
" You have to have somebody who can look at things horizontally
across the different departments. "
The more brick-and-mortar fresh perimeter departments work
together, the better chance they'll all cope with the digital onslaught.
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Supermarket Perimeter - September 2022

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