• Health-minded consumers seeking convenient less processed products are driving positive sales in the fruit and vegetable category’s largest markets

• The European region led fruit and vegetable introductions in 2015, with convenience and naturalness driving product innovation in the category

• Fresh products continue to make inroads in developed markets, but shelf-stable formats remain important for developing markets

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.

In the US, retail sales of fruit and vegetables grew an estimated 3.7% in 2015 to reach US$97.4 billion, according to Fruit-US, August 2015 and Vegetables-US, June 2015. Fresh fruit and vegetables, including fresh cut salad products, are estimated to account for 87% of the total US fruit and vegetable market, indicating that consumers' preference for fresh products continues to drive sales in the category.

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.

Globally, vegetable-based products continue to dominate product innovation in the broader fruit and vegetable category, which includes fruit and vegetable snacks, with vegetables and vegetable snacks accounting for 57% of product introductions in 2015 compared to 43% for fruit and fruit-based snacks. Manufacturers are catering to consumer demand for naturally healthful snacks as innovation in fruit and vegetable snacks continues to rise throughout the world.

Convenience is driving product innovation in the category, with convenience-related claims such as ease of use, microwaveability and convenient packaging appearing on nearly a third (31%) of product introductions in 2015. ‘Suitable for’ claims primarily denoting vegetarian, gluten-free, kosher and halal status appeared on 30% of new products, while naturalness claims, which appeared on 29% of products, were led by no additives/preservatives claims and an uptick in organic claims, which appeared on 12% of new products in 2015, compared to 10% in 2014.

Figure 3: Top 10 claims on fruit and vegetable product introductions, global, 2015

Source: Mintel GNPD

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.

Globally, fruit and vegetable manufacturers relied most heavily on shelf-stable formats in 2015, accounting for nearly two-thirds (64%) of product introductions during the year. Shelf-stable products remain relevant in the developing markets of the Asia-Pacific and Latin America where retail supply chains are evolving and consumers’ access to electricity and refrigeration is not universal. In 2015, frozen products accounted for 20%, and chilled products accounted for 16% of global fruit and vegetable NPD. Chilled and frozen innovation was led by the North American region, followed by Europe. However, the Latin American region experienced a significant uptick in chilled formats in 2015, driven by an increase in chilled NPD in Brazil and Mexico.