Editor's note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2024, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 41 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.
Once again, bananas top the list as the most purchased fresh produce, according to The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2024.
Nearly 83% of consumers surveyed said they purchased this tropical fruit in the past 12 months. This is up from 63% in Fresh Trends 2023.
More consumers said they purchased bananas than apples (78.3%), tomatoes (63.7%), grapes (62.5%) and carrots (60.9%), which rounded out the top produce purchases in the survey.
More consumers turned to bananas, too, as 31.7% of consumers reported buying more bananas because of inflation.
With its popularity, there is no wide variation in the percentage of consumers who purchase bananas based on income. Nearly 87% of consumers who earn $100,000 or more annually said they buy bananas, compared with 71.3% of consumers who earn less than $25,000 a year.
Consumers with dependent children and without dependent children also showed no difference in purchase preference. For example, 81.7% of consumers with no children and 83.6% of consumers with children reported purchasing bananas. Those with one (81.8%), two (84.4%) or three or more dependent children (85.1%) added bananas to their shopping carts in the past year.
Almost all Fresh Trends 2024 respondents aged 50-59 (89.7%) said they purchased bananas in the past 12 months. Those figures are in line with other age groups, including those aged 18-29 (72.8%), 30-39 (80.5%), 40-49 (87.5%) and those aged 60 and older (84.1%).
Bananas’ popularity continues among consumers of all races, where 85% of Hispanic, 83.1% of Asian, 83% of white/Caucasian and 77.7% of Black/African American shoppers said they purchased bananas in the past 12 months.
Fresh Trends 2024 data for bananas
Reported purchase based on household income*
- Less than $25K — 71%
- $25K<$50K — 80%
- $50K<$100K — 86%
- $100K+ — 87%
*Annual household income
Reported purchase based on dependent children
- Have kids — 84%
- 1 kid — 82%
- 2 kids — 84%
- 3 or more kids — 85%
- No kids — 82%
Reported purchase based on region
- Midwest — 82%
- Northeast — 84%
- South — 79%
- West — 86%
Reported purchase based on age*
- 18-29 — 73%
- 30-39 — 81%
- 40-49 — 88%
- 50-59 — 90%
- 60+ — 84%
*Considering primary household buyers
Reported purchase based on ethnicity
- Asian — 83%
- Black/African American — 78%
- Hispanic — 85%
- Other — 82%
- White/Caucasian — 83%
