Sales of junk food and drinks are falling as UK consumers choose healthier options.
A gap has emerged between healthy and non-healthy food sales according to market research, with consumers more aware of the 5 A Day concept and broadening their fresh produce purchases, reports have found.
Up to eight per cent of the 3,000 people surveyed claim to eat more fruit and veg than they did in 2004. Exotic items have gained particular following and mango sales rose by 70 per cent last year.
Tesco said its veg sales were also up eight per cent on 2004, with carrots, beetroot and sweet potato all proving popular.
A spokesman for the supermarket giant said its customers were attracted by brightly-coloured vegetables containing high levels of vitamins.
“People are becoming more adventurous in the fruits and vegetables they choose and how they eat them - for example, using fruit to whizz up into a smoothie,” she claimed.
Leading smoothie maker Innocent saw its sales treble last year, while sales of bottled water rose by 10 per cent last year.
The soaring demand for fruit juices and smoothies is spelling disaster for the traditional soft drinks market, however.
Drinks manufacturer Britvic is the latest casualty, announcing yesterday a £136m loss in share value, and expectations of further decline.
The claim follows McDonalds bosses' announcement earlier this week that it would close 25 outlets due to a dramatic nationwide slump in sales of fast-food.
These findings should be a welcome confidence boost for those seeking to invest in health-promoting campaigns such as this industry’s latest venture - Eat in Colour.
Martin Hickman, consumer affairs correspondent for The Independent described the emerging trend as “a vindication of a government-sponsored public information campaign on healthy eating, frequently criticised as evidence of an overtly intrusive ‘nanny state’.”
