Young adults hold the key to boosting fruit and veg consumption

Young adults hold the key to boosting fruit and veg consumption

The key to increasing 5 A DAY consumption may lie in attracting more young adult consumers to eat fruit and vegetables.

Chris Kingsland, business development director at market analyst TNS Worldpanel, said: “Most of us are still not reaching our [5 A DAY] targets, even though awareness is high. The question is, why not? Perhaps the key will be to bring in more young adult consumers, falling well short of this number, by making the occasion easier and more enjoyable. Maybe this will influence the long-term situation.”

Kingsland was speaking after TNS usage panel data showed some widely differing trends. The data found that after 10 years of department of health recommendations to eat 5 A DAY, we are still no closer to this target and only consume on average 2.6 portions a day - up just 0.01 per cent since 2005. “At this rate it will take another 25 years to move the population to the full 5 A DAY,” said Kingsland.

Adult females continue to fare the best, with an average of 2.8 portions. And females over 45 are shown as the group most likely to achieve the 5 A DAY count, while all adults over 45 make up two-thirds of the people who hit the target. But TNS data shows younger males of 17-24 are well below average with a count of only 1.9 portions a day, and their female peers only fare slightly better at 2.2 portions.

But with juices, canned, and vacuum-packed fruit and vegetables and pulses and beans all counting towards 5 A DAY, the 5 A DAY marketplace is worth £11.25 billion a year, from data up to the week ending September 7, according to TNS - growth of 5.6 per cent year on year.

Kingsland said: “The story is mixed; by value, total chilled fresh fruit and veg is up 5.1 per cent, but prepared salad is down by 1.6 per cent, frozen veg is actually up by 5.2 per cent, but canned is flat. Tinned fruit has actually declined in value by 3.3 per cent. The clearest growth in 5 A DAY is chilled juice, at just under 15 per cent growth this year, with the ambient juice market in growth, but at 1.2 per cent.”

And worryingly, looking in depth into consumer body mass index shows that obese consumers’ intake has actually dropped in the last 12 months to May this year, to 2.4 portions on average.

Topics