Description

The global market for fruit and vegetables maintained positive momentum in 2015, driven by increasingly health-minded consumers in developed countries, and rising incomes, increasing urbanization and movement into modern retail systems in the developing world.

Convenience is a key category driver, with frozen fruit positioned as recipe-ready for smoothies, and fresh cut salads continuing to perform exceptionally well. Conversely, canned fruit and vegetables continue to be challenged to maintain sales and share, impacted by the migration of US consumers to the retail fresh perimeter, and away from products that are perceived as overprocessed.

The European region accounted for the largest share of fruit and vegetable product introductions in 2015, led by France, Spain and the UK. Innovation in the Asia-Pacific region was led by India, as manufacturers and retailers there continue to embrace retail packaging for commodities, such as pulses, which have been traditionally sold in bulk. Innovation in Latin America ticked up as a percentage of total global innovation, led by NPD in Brazil.