While the recent heatwave across the UK has brought some swelteringly high figures on the national thermometer, so too has it lead to some big numbers in terms of fresh produce sales. The category is typically well suited to the summer months, and so far this year has been no exception.
Consumers have been creative in how they’re choosing to enjoy fresh fruit and veg in the sun and those that go well with alcoholic drinks have been seen particular boosts. Volume sales of lime have grown 11 per cent in the latest 12 weeks, with lemon posting a similar 12 per cent uplift and mint growing by five per cent.
These increases come alongside a six per cent rise in the value of spirits sold over the same period, suggesting people are adding fresh produce to their gin and tonics, mojitos and Tom Collins’ while enjoying the sun.
However it’s not all about fruit finishes to alcoholic drinks; fresh salad components such as cucumber, peppers, lettuce, sweetcorn and spring onion have all seen growth as shoppers favour a light lunch in the hot weather. Avocado has continued its run as an established part of the national shopping list, proving as popular in summer dishes as it is all year round.
One of the most notable performers over the last 12 weeks, however, has been radish. Although the overall market for radish remains small compared to the most popular fresh produce, it has been bought by an extra 890,000 households in the past 12 weeks – the largest increase across all fresh produce. This is significant given the cold start we had to 2018, and the potential impact this could have had on the market.
Radishes are popular among consumers for a number of reasons; as with much fresh produce, health is a big factor, being the motivator on 67 per cent of occasions, while their distinct taste is the reason for almost half of all purchases.
There’s a big opportunity for the radish category to continue these trends and ensure some solid future growth. Given that consumers consider them as a complement to meals rather than the centrepiece, the goal should be to continue to find new and innovative combinations and uses for radishes.
They are already offered in a wide range of portion sizes, which means consumers can be versatile in how they work them in to their favourite dishes. Optimism can also be found in the fact that radishes currently only reach 22 per cent of the market, meaning growth is likely to continue as word spreads.
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