Consumers and Fruit Quality

Transcription

1 Consumers and Fruit Quality Determine how produce flavor as affected by harvest and postharvest practices influences consumer behavior and attitudes regarding consumption of specialty crops. Co PI: Christine Bruhn, Ph.D. UC Davis Co PI: Amarat Simonne, Ph.D. University of Florida What do consumers say they want? What do consumers buy? Christine M. Bruhn Director, Center for Consumer Research Collaborator: Diane Cassidy, Ph.D. UC Davis Collaborator: Al Wysocki, Ph.D. University of Florida With graduate students Stephanie Jensen and Melissa Daniels Top Sellers 94% BANANAS / 92% APPLES 87% TOMATOES 82% STRAWBERRIES 74% CANTALOUPE 71% WATERMELON 67% PEACHES 62% BLUEBERRIES 49% PEARS 40% NECTARINES 33% HONEYDEW The Packer, 2010 Fresh Trends What consumers say 58% Ate more produce this year than last year 69% Ate more this year than five years ago 75% Ate a larger variety this year then 20 years ago US PER CAPITA FRUIT CONSUMPTION, POUNDS Pounds per capita Source: Fruit and Tree Nuts Yearbook, ERS/USDA, Process Noncitrus Process Citrus Fresh Citrus Fresh Noncitrus Factors Driving increased consumption 79% say they eat produce to get more nutrients in their diet Convenience, specially salad mixes increase purchases Availability has increased purchase for some items

2 Research Plans Obtain information on consumer experience and expectations of quality factors for pears, melons, berries, stone fruits and tomatoes Identify quality factors that could increase consumption Consumers include: parents with small children, parents with high school children, adults with no children at home, and older adults (people over 50 years). Consumer Attitude Research Activities to Date Focus Groups completed in Florida (5) & California (6) Preparing an internet-based survey : Overall Varies levels of satisfaction with current produce quality Low satisfaction: Go to farmers markets, roadside stands Will switch supermarkets for better quality Florida greatest satisfaction with berries, least with pears and peaches California No specific trends noted Unsolicited praise for Harry and David pears Consumer Selection Criteria Characteristic odor Color Firm fruit (but not hard), depending on item No clue for melons, try different approaches Consumer Storage Some store correctly by habit FL, a mix between storing tomatoes in refrig and counter top, not so in CA Awareness of nutritional benefits Highest for tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries Few are knowledgeable about other fruit Know that fruit is good adds color to your plate Few know how many servings a person should eat Want high quality fruit so children will eat it A high quality fruit is like a rare gem Common complaints Disconnect between appearance & flavor Looks good, poor taste Produce goes from under-ripe at purchase to rotting too quickly Consumers want to control when product is ripe People are seeking trustworthy advice

3 Pears Purchases increased 1% in 2010 compared to 49% purchased pears in the Preferred varieties: 43% bartlett, 21% anjou 15% bosc Households earning more than $100,000 were most likely to buy pears Q: When pears are in season, how often do you buy them? There is a season for pears? [laughs] FL Q: What do pears contribute nutritionally? They re not as nutritional from what I ve heard as other fruits. I haven t heard much yeah, they re not as nutritional. They taste delicious. FL I have no confidence in my ability to buy pears. FL Pears from Harry and David s are so good. They are worth the price. It is like somebody sending you a gold nugget to get something that tastes like that [Harry and David pear]. -CA Blueberries Purchases increased 17% in 2010 compared to 62% reported purchasing blueberries in the Households earning less than $50,000 were least likely to buy blueberries Strawberries Purchases increased 12% in 2010 compared to 82% purchased strawberries in the Households with children were more likely to purchase (86%) compared to w/o children (80%) They should be little edible jewels. They are so special, they can be so sublimely delicious. CA You re not going to be able to encourage your children to eat more fruits and vegetable if you re serving them things that don t taste good. All they need to taste is one or two of them, berries that don t taste good at all and they are not going to try them again. CA They re kind of hard to pick because you can t tell by just looking at them. The bottom line is the taste and the texture, you can t really tell that til you eat it. FL What I understand is they re picking their varieties to sell by the ones that look good, not the ones that taste good. Everything that stores well or transports well or all this. But taste needs to be in their mix. CA Peaches Purchases increased 11% in 2010 compared to 67% reported purchasing peaches in the past year Households with children were more likely to buy peaches compared to those without children

4 Nectarines Purchases increased 8% in 2010 compared to 40% reported purchasing Nectarines in the Households three or more children at home were most likely to buy nectarines I ve got to tell you that my experience of buying peaches and nectarines at the store, is that they are never at their optimum. They are always too hard or if they are the soft, there is no flavor. CA They go from completely unripe to rotten, they never pass through ripe. CA Time after time at the store I buy them because I really want some peaches or nectarines and then you are just so disappointed. It s like oh, tricked again. FL I bought some from a grocery store and they were all bad which was a huge disappointment because they looked good. But I m still going to give them a chance so I ve still been buying them. I m such a fan [of peaches] I ll just keep doing it until I m let down in a major way and then I m done for a while. CA I don t buy them because I always seem to get the ones that are dry and not the nice juicy ones. I just stopped buying them because I was just wasting money. FL It s one of my favorite fruits I just don t eat them anymore. FL Tomatoes Purchases increased 5% in 2010 compared to 87% purchased tomatoes in the Most popular: field grown beefsteak 43%, romas 12%, cluster 7%, hot house 7% cherry 6% 67% said they knew how to ripen tomatoes Unless they re one heck of a tomato I m not paying a lot more for it. FL I go crazy when tomatoes are in season because there s nothing better than a fresh in-season tomato, so we eat them every single day when they re in season. CA If there s any way to avoid buying it from the grocery store, I will. CA But they always have them [heirloom] there and so I go through and I could care less if they are five bucks a pound, they are good, and they taste like a tomato. CA If a bad tomato costs $.50 and a good tomato costs $1.00, just as an example, I would pay double for a good tomato, because why would I spend anything on a bad tomato? CA Honeydew Purchases increased 2% in 2010 compared to 33% reported purchasing honeydews in the Households with children at home were more likely to buy this fruit Cantaloupe Purchases increased 15% in 2010 compared to 74% Purchased cantaloupes in the 85% Prefer to buy ripe melon, 33% said they knew how to ripen cantaloupes at home The Packer, Fresh Trends, 2010

5 Watermelon Purchases increased 9% in 2010 compared to 71% reported purchased watermelons in the 75% of households with children bought watermelons in the I think so far the only one that I ve not been lucky with is the melon, because you can t see the fruit itself, you only see the outside. To me it s a 50:50, you either got it or you don t luck of the draw. FL I don t know a lot about selecting honeydew so I don t usually do it myself I get the produce person to pick it because I apparently don t know what I am looking for with honeydews, they are always rock hard when I get them. CA Will it ripen on me if I leave it out once I buy it? Or is it too late? FL When I buy really unripe fruit I will leave it in my car because it gets hotter than my house and I usually leave it there 24 hours and the next day bring it in. CA I don t think watermelons can be very good because they re primarily sugar and water. FL Self reported knowledge of how to select and ripening fruit I do enjoy fruits, I just don t like buying fruits very often. I buy bad fruits sometimes and it s so expensive that I m kind of cautious of buying stuff. But when I find fruit that I like I buy a lot of it. FL People know [supermarket fruits aren't the best quality] so they don t want to buy them. CA I like fruit but, I m a little wary about buying it because I always get bad fruit. FL If you take a look at organic produce compared to regular [conventionally] type you ll see that people are paying more and accepting something that doesn t look pristine. CA What are they going to do different that they have to charge more for it, and I want them to show me. Then my question is, why are you doing it? Why are you putting a second rate product on the market now? FL I expect good quality fruit, I shouldn t have to pay more. FL The Packer, Fresh Trends 2008, Information People Want: Nutrition Where products are grown Information on various uses of the products (FL) Information on the flavor and uses of different varieties Ways to provide information about improved quality Signs, NOT flyers On-line works for some but not all Provide samples to verify quality Next Steps National Online Consumer Survey: To quantify key quality factors affecting consumer purchase and eating habits criteria for fruit selection storage practices ripening methods produce use Reaction to descriptions of enhanced fruit handling