Fresh Foods

By: Rick Stein, Vice President, Fresh Foods, Food Marketing Institute

Cathy’s Red Delicious Apples are grown on Cathy’s family farm, which was founded in the late 1800s by Cathy’s great, great grandfather, Ned. Ned planted each seed by hand to eventually turn the family’s property into the finest apple orchard within 50 miles. The farm has remained in Cathy’s family for five generations, and it’s professed by the community that Cathy’s farm produces the sweetest Red Delicious apples in the area.

You’ve seen this narrative play out in the grocery store, and while I invented this brand story for this post, the trend in local is certainly not a tall tale. According to the 2016 Power of Produce report, the popularity of locally-grown continues to soar, with 61 percent of survey respondents expressing high interest. What’s most interesting to me in our research is the notion that the shopper’s definition of local seems to be tightening to mean a certain mile radius (39 percent) and state lines (28 percent).What used to be aspirational is now tangible in that the consumer can experience the local product at their (local) grocery store.

Local is big business for food retailers, especially as it relates to the produce aisle.  According to the Power of Produce report, more than three-quarters of shoppers cite their support for the local economy and farmers as a reason for buying locally-sourced produce — edging out “freshness” as the number one factor. Still, consumers see a close link to local and fresh with 74 percent citing freshness as a reason for buying local produce. Driven by the Millennials, consumer belief that locally-sourced produce has a lesser environmental impact grew from 23 percent in 2015 to 38 percent in 2016. Local connects food to people and creates a relationship in the mind of the consumer and helps them understand where their food comes from.  It’s the honest story that draws in shoppers. 

If I were to open my own store today, rest assured I would make sure that every local item I carried at Rick’s Fresh Foods had a candid story associated with it. Download the full report and find more fresh food resources at www.FMI.org/FreshFoods.