Editor's Note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.
Like the entire berry category, raspberries are on the upswing.
USDA numbers show retail per capita availability of raspberries more than doubled from 0.3 pounds in 2011 to 0.8 pounds in 2019.
The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey found that 24% of consumers reported raspberry purchases in the past year, down from 28% in Fresh Trends 2022 and down from 30% in Fresh Trends 2021.
Higher-income consumers are more likely to purchase fresh raspberries.
In the Fresh Trends 2023 survey, 35% of consumers earning more than $100,000 per year indicated fresh raspberry purchases, compared with 18% of consumers earning less than $25,000 annually.
Unlike most other fresh produce, shipping point prices for raspberries declined in 2022, USDA numbers show. The average fob price for raspberries was $14.09 per carton, down 19% from $17.45 in 2021.
The average advertised retail price for raspberries rose slightly, from $1.64 per unit in 2021 to $1.72 per unit in 2022, a gain of 5%. The number of stores promoting raspberries totaled 597,598 in 2022, down 5% from 630,702 in 2021.
While higher income correlated with more frequent raspberry purchases, other demographic variables such as age and ethnic background resulted in little variation in raspberry purchases, Fresh Trends 2023 data showed.