The death of the weekly shop could be delivering big benefits to Australians’ health, according to new research.
The research, highlighted in the latest Project Harvest consumer research report suggests more frequent shopping trips lead to more expenditure on and higher consumption of fresh produce.
The study suggests that one extra weekly shopping trip can increase consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables by 3.8 servings per week.
“It’s encouraging that consumers who are making more frequent shopping trips are increasingly buying fresh produce and making an investment in their long term health and wellbeing,” said Ausveg spokesperson, Kurt Hermann.
“Research has found that 80 per cent of Australians buy vegetables more than once a week, and nearly two thirds of all Australians go grocery shopping more than twice a week,” said Hermann.
“Most Australians don’t have one big weekly grocery shop, instead, they’re increasingly treating supermarkets as extensions of their fridges, only buying enough fresh produce for the next couple of meals to avoid wastage or buying too much for their needs.”
“There are a wide range of avenues available for shoppers to pick up the high-quality fresh vegetables that local growers are known for, from the major retailers to specialist produce stores like greengrocers. With all these options available, we encourage all Australians to grab more fresh vegetables the next time they’re at the shops.”
The Project Harvest report, part of a tracking study of consumer attitudes to fresh vegetable purchases over time, has also found that the future of Australian vegetable consumption will be about customising convenience and optimising health.
In particular, the report suggests “dinner kit” services, which deliver the fresh ingredients consumers need to home cook meals, could be a major growth trend.
“The modern dinner kit is growing in popularity, it hits a sweet spot for consumers wanting convenience, wanting healthy options, wanting to be from scratch cooks and wanting to reduce waste,” said Hermann.
“With these kits delivering fresh ingredients to consumers’ doorsteps, they present an excellent opportunity for Australian vegetable growers to get their high-quality produce to Australian shoppers.”
