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.
Cucumbers are showing growth in per capita consumption numbers, and The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 survey also shows a bump up in purchase frequency compared with last year.
According to Fresh Trends 2023, 46% of consumers reported fresh cucumber purchases in the past year, up from 45% in the 2022 survey and up from 44% in the 2021 survey.
The USDA reports that retail per capita availability of fresh cucumber has risen from 6.19 pounds in 2010 to 7.38 pounds in 2019, a gain of 19% over that time span.
Higher-income consumers were the most frequent purchasers of cucumbers in the Fresh Trends 2023 survey, but the gap between lower-income and higher-income consumers was modest.
Forty-nine percent of consumers making more than $100,000 per year reported fresh cucumber purchases, compared with 42% making less than $25,000 annually, 43% of those making between $25,000 and $50,000 a year and 49% of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 per year.
Consumers in the West rated tops in frequency of fresh cucumber purchases, according to Fresh Trends 2023, with 55% indicating fresh cucumber purchases in the previous year. That compares with 47% for shoppers in the Midwest, 41% in the South and 41% for consumers in the Northeast.
Older consumers polled by Fresh Trends were big consumers of fresh cucumbers. Fifty-four percent of consumers aged 60 and older reported fresh cucumber purchases, slightly below the 59% for the 50-59 age group but well above the 42% reported for the 40-49 age group, the 39% for the 30-39 bracket and the 32% reported by consumers 18-29 years old.
Forty-seven percent of consumers with no kids at home reported fresh cucumber purchases, slightly above the 44% reported for consumers with kids at home.
Asian consumers were the strongest consumers of fresh cucumbers, according to Fresh Trends data. Fifty-five percent of Asian consumers reported fresh cucumber purchases, compared with 47% for white/Caucasian shoppers, 39% for Black/African American buyers and 47% of Hispanic consumers.