According to the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) monthly report in the United States the holiday effect (July 4th, Indipendence Day) was strong for fresh produce and cherries played a major role. The holiday week generated $1.643 billion turnover for fresh produce versus $1.503 for the last week of July. Additionally, pound sales increased 4.5% during the week of the Fourth versus flat results during the remaining July weeks.
"Produce sales benefited from investment in price plus retailers stepping up efforts in produce’s role in grilling, from campaigns on ‘how to grill veggies’ to on-pack ‘great for the grill’ stickers on a variety of produce items.” said Joe Watson, VP, Retail, Foodservice & Wholesale at IFPA.
Summer is the strong season for fruits and vegetables, as locally produced and seasonal items come to market at a much higher rate," pointed out Jonna Parker, Team Lead Fresh at Circana. "Our survey shows that seasonality and proximity are the two main motivations for unplanned buying; eye-catching displays and storytelling can help improve fruit and vegetable performance.
Seasonal powerhouse cherries achieved a record performance in June 2023, ranking fourth in terms of turnover in the fresh fruit department. Cherry turnover in June was US$ 342 million, or USD 2.61 per household, with double-digit growth compared to June 2022 in both value (+40.3%) and quantity (+71.9%).
Cherries also remained in the top five in July with US$ 261 million in sales, representing an average monthly expenditure of US$ 1.99 per household.
The later start of promotions and investment in price is having the desired effect on demand, but the growth in pounds was unable to offset the investment in dollars. Regardless, cherries demonstrate that consumers’ appetite for seasonal items remains strong.
$ sales M 06/2023 | $ vs YA 06/2023 | Lbs vs. YA 06/2023 | $ sales M 07/2023 | $ vs YA 07/2023 | Lbs vs. YA 07/2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fresh fruit | 4200 | +1,3% | -5,1% | 3300 | 0,6% | 1,7% |
Berries | 951 | +8.0% | +4,9% | 679 | 9,2% | 6,0% |
Melons | 586 | -3,5% | -14,1% | 782 | 6,3% | 5,1% |
Apples | 368 | +1,0% | -3,8% | 279 | 0,4% | -3,9% |
Cherries | 342 | +40,3% | +71,9% | 261 | -13,2% | 25,0% |
Bananas | 335 | +1,2% | -1,5% | 258 | 0,8% | -1,6% |
According to Circana (formerly known as IRI) which reports the purchasing habits of 100,000 U.S. households from across the United States, cherries ranked 13th in 2022 among the most popular fruits, with a household penetration of 35%.
When analysing absolute growth in value sales, cherries were in first place in June: with a growth of US$ 98.2 million (+71.9% year-on-year), they surpassed both berries (+ US$ 70.3 million, or +4.9%) and mandarins (+ US$ 44.3 million, or +52.3%) in growth.
In July 2023, berries regained the overall growth lead while cherries dropped out of the top ten products by monthly change in sales.
Cherries sold online in US - week 33/2023
Image by cookie_studio on Freepik
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