Research reveals insights into consumer stone fruit preferences
Research reveals insights into consumer stone fruit preferences
VISALIA, CA -- Extensive consumer research undertaken by the California Tree Fruit Agreement over the past year has revealed some enlightening facts about consumer preferences regarding peaches, plums and nectarines, according to CTFA President Blair Richardson.
Speaking at the group's annual grower dinner and town hall meeting held here Tuesday, Dec. 6, Mr. Richardson summarized the findings by saying, "What it all boils down to, it is all about choice." There is no one size or color or degree of firmness or softness "that is perfect for everyone," he said.
In conducting the research, the organization "got great response and really good information," Mr. Richardson said. "The interesting thing [is that] generally, consumers are not looking for 'a perfect peach.' Everyone has their own ideas" about what they are looking for in a peach, so there is no such thing as a peach that is perfect for everyone. Even for an individual consumer, there is no perfect degree of firmness or softness for a piece of fruit at the time of purchase, because 80 percent of all consumers prefer to buy some fruit that is a little firmer and some that is a little softer, similar to the manner in which bananas are often purchased. Most consumers indicated that "they choose some fruit for today and the next day" and some for three or four days out, because they do not plan on going back to the store every day to get fruit that is just the right softness for immediate use, Mr. Richardson explained. "They don't want everything ready to eat now. They don't want everything to be ready to eat four days from now."
Individual preferences also differ. The majority of consumers "look for fruit that is firm with a little give," and they say that they "will buy less fruit if it is harder or softer than this," he said.
But there are many consumers who like their fruit hard and crunchy and others that "like it melting in their hand." Then, too, the same consumer may prefer some varieties crunchy, such as the white flesh peaches or nectarines, and other varieties softer and juicier.
"Another key finding," Mr. Richardson said, is that peaches and nectarines "with splashes of red," as opposed to full red, "are most attractive" to a majority of consumers. They see it as a more "natural-looking piece of fruit," he said. "When shown an all-red piece of fruit, about 61 percent [of consumers] say they would buy less of this kind of fruit."
Retailers generally have a different perception, he said. Retail buyers often insist that they want peach and nectarine varieties with a full red blush. And some consumers surely do prefer that, but the majority does not.
With regard to size, there is also a widespread perception that bigger is better, but most consumers prefer a peach or nectarine that is in the range from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a baseball. When larger fruit, say the size of a softball, is on the shelf in the produce department, consumers may be impressed with it, but they do not necessarily prefer to buy it. The larger fruit raises questions in their mind ranging from whether the fruit was artificially induced to grow that large to whether they or their children can eat a piece of fruit that large.
If the fruit is larger, that "doesn't mean they are not going to buy the fruit. They will just buy less of it," Mr. Richardson said.
"Again, it is all about choices," he continued. "If we put [just] one size, one range of pressure, one color" in the produce department, "[we] are going to miss a lot of people."
What these findings indicate, he said, "is that there are a lot of opportunities out there for our industry and our retailers," because offering consumers more choices in size, color and degrees of softness will result in increased sales.
"It will take work to help our retailers understand this," he said. "The kind of information we are generating is going to be used in future marketing programs. It is going to be communicated to retailers. We are going to try to get retailers excited about these things. We are going to try to get retailers to try new things and get out of their old habits."
Peaches, plums and nectarines are a "tremendously important" category for retailers, Mr. Richardson noted. "It makes up 9 to 11 percent of their total dollar sales during the months of our season, especially during June, July, August and September. They are not going to ignore it. But we are going to have to be out there meeting their needs. We have to come up with new, innovative ways of promoting the product and gathering the consumer's attention."
Speaking at the group's annual grower dinner and town hall meeting held here Tuesday, Dec. 6, Mr. Richardson summarized the findings by saying, "What it all boils down to, it is all about choice." There is no one size or color or degree of firmness or softness "that is perfect for everyone," he said.
In conducting the research, the organization "got great response and really good information," Mr. Richardson said. "The interesting thing [is that] generally, consumers are not looking for 'a perfect peach.' Everyone has their own ideas" about what they are looking for in a peach, so there is no such thing as a peach that is perfect for everyone. Even for an individual consumer, there is no perfect degree of firmness or softness for a piece of fruit at the time of purchase, because 80 percent of all consumers prefer to buy some fruit that is a little firmer and some that is a little softer, similar to the manner in which bananas are often purchased. Most consumers indicated that "they choose some fruit for today and the next day" and some for three or four days out, because they do not plan on going back to the store every day to get fruit that is just the right softness for immediate use, Mr. Richardson explained. "They don't want everything ready to eat now. They don't want everything to be ready to eat four days from now."
Individual preferences also differ. The majority of consumers "look for fruit that is firm with a little give," and they say that they "will buy less fruit if it is harder or softer than this," he said.
But there are many consumers who like their fruit hard and crunchy and others that "like it melting in their hand." Then, too, the same consumer may prefer some varieties crunchy, such as the white flesh peaches or nectarines, and other varieties softer and juicier.
"Another key finding," Mr. Richardson said, is that peaches and nectarines "with splashes of red," as opposed to full red, "are most attractive" to a majority of consumers. They see it as a more "natural-looking piece of fruit," he said. "When shown an all-red piece of fruit, about 61 percent [of consumers] say they would buy less of this kind of fruit."
Retailers generally have a different perception, he said. Retail buyers often insist that they want peach and nectarine varieties with a full red blush. And some consumers surely do prefer that, but the majority does not.
With regard to size, there is also a widespread perception that bigger is better, but most consumers prefer a peach or nectarine that is in the range from the size of a tennis ball to the size of a baseball. When larger fruit, say the size of a softball, is on the shelf in the produce department, consumers may be impressed with it, but they do not necessarily prefer to buy it. The larger fruit raises questions in their mind ranging from whether the fruit was artificially induced to grow that large to whether they or their children can eat a piece of fruit that large.
If the fruit is larger, that "doesn't mean they are not going to buy the fruit. They will just buy less of it," Mr. Richardson said.
"Again, it is all about choices," he continued. "If we put [just] one size, one range of pressure, one color" in the produce department, "[we] are going to miss a lot of people."
What these findings indicate, he said, "is that there are a lot of opportunities out there for our industry and our retailers," because offering consumers more choices in size, color and degrees of softness will result in increased sales.
"It will take work to help our retailers understand this," he said. "The kind of information we are generating is going to be used in future marketing programs. It is going to be communicated to retailers. We are going to try to get retailers excited about these things. We are going to try to get retailers to try new things and get out of their old habits."
Peaches, plums and nectarines are a "tremendously important" category for retailers, Mr. Richardson noted. "It makes up 9 to 11 percent of their total dollar sales during the months of our season, especially during June, July, August and September. They are not going to ignore it. But we are going to have to be out there meeting their needs. We have to come up with new, innovative ways of promoting the product and gathering the consumer's attention."
