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.
Twenty-nine percent of all consumers said they purchased cherries in the past year, according to The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023. That compares with 36% of consumers indicating cherry purchases in Fresh Trends 2022 and 35% in Fresh Trends 2021.
Frequency of cherry purchases varied among income levels, according to Fresh Trends 2023, with 42% of consumers earning more than $100,000 a year indicating cherry purchases, compared with 18% of consumers earning less than $25,000 annually.
Though there are some counter-seasonal imports, nearly 90% of fresh cherries in the U.S. are marketed in May, June and July.
The average fob price for cherries was up significantly in 2022, according to the USDA. The 2022 average fob was $52.45 per carton, up 30% from $40.26 per carton in 2021.
The average advertised retail price for fresh cherries was $2.86 per unit in 2022, up 20% from $2.38 in 2021. The number of food stores promoting cherries dropped 19% from 472,170 in 2021 to 382,320 in 2022.
Fresh Trends 2023 showed that consumers aged 60 and older were more likely to purchase fresh cherries compared to younger shoppers. Thirty-seven percent of Fresh Trends respondents 60 and older said they purchased fresh cherries, compared with 22% for the 18-29 age bracket.
By region, 37% of Midwest shoppers indicated cherry purchases, compared with 30% for Northeast consumers, 29% for consumers in the West and 23% for shoppers in the South.