The consumer purchasing experience for fresh produce is changing rapidly, thanks to a number of technological advances that are creating customers who are more empowered than ever when they walk into the grocery store. These technological advances are helping consumers in their pursuit of quality, sustainability and accessibility. And the produce and floral industries are adapting to the latest developments in order to remain relevant to consumers.
Those strawberries on the produce counter are red, plump and in season, but how do they taste? A new molecular-sensing smartphone, unveiled at CES 2017,
promises to answer that question with the click of a button. The Changhong H2
claims to be the only phone with a material sensor that can scan and analyze physical objects. For example, the phone will have the ability to absorb light reflected from a food in the user’s hand, determine its unique molecular fingerprint and rate its quality. A promotional video for the phone calls this a “scan for sweetness.”
This molecular-sensing technology is just one example of tools to help ensure the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables. In recent years, the iWatermelon
and watermelon prober
smartphone apps have claimed to determine the quality of a watermelon based on analysis of the sound it produces when tapped. Likewise, the Harvest
app is one of several apps that provides information on seasonal produce based on the user’s location, tips for selecting the best produce, storing instructions, data on pesticide levels and recommendations on buying organic.
These and other quality-focused tools demonstrate that customers are looking to technology to ensure that their money spent on fresh fruits and vegetables isn’t going to waste.
Consumers are increasingly aware that the food on their table has a global impact. Forty-one percent of consumers listed “sustainability” as a factor influencing purchasing decisions in 2016, compared to 35 percent in 2015, according to the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 2016 Food and Health Survey.
Consumers are taking advantage of new technologies to seek out fruits and vegetables that are produced in a way that protects the environment, promotes public health, enriches human communities and/or supports animal welfare.
Several grocery stores are using new technology to drive sustainability. For example, a Whole Foods in Brooklyn, New York utilized sustainable technology to convert its roof into a pesticide-free urban farm run by the company Gotham Greens
Advanced hydroponic and aquaponic farming technologies are changing the way grocery stores provide sustainable produce to customers. “By working with farms close by or connected to the market itself, supermarket produce managers—even in urban settings—can go directly to the farmer to ask for a spicier radish or more red leaves in the mixed greens,” Epicurious recently reported.
New technologies are also stepping up to reduce food waste. Silicon Valley startup Cerplus
connects buyers with unsold produce for about 30 percent less than the standard wholesale price. Despite being ripe and nutritious, these fruits and vegetables are often overlooked in traditional grocery stores simply because they are unusually shaped or considered ugly. San Francisco-based Souper Seconds
has a similar model of using its online platform to connect buyers with organic produce that is blemished or overstocked. Previously, these foods likely would have ended up in a landfill.
Sustainability is more than a platitude for today’s consumers. They increasingly expect sellers to use technology to support eco-friendly practices.
Historically, a person’s access to fresh fruits and vegetables has been limited to the grocery stores or farmers markets within convenient driving or walking distance. For many Americans, especially those living in urban food deserts, fresh produce options can be sparse and expensive. While this remains a serious problem, a number of technological advances and innovative start-ups are working to address the problem.
For example, Real Food Farm in Baltimore, Maryland uses social media to raise awareness of its mobile farmers market. The fresh produce is grown organically in urban farms and sold directly from the back of the food truck in low-income communities around the city. Customers may pay using SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits, formerly known as food stamps. The St. Louis MetroMarket in Missouri has a similar model of bringing busloads of fresh produce to underserved communities. It likewise uses social media to announce its destinations and drum up enthusiasm for its mission.
More affluent customers are also using technological advances to increase their access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Notably they are choosing to skip the trip to the store and have groceries delivered directly to their homes. Online grocery shopping and delivery is expected to increase five-fold over the next 10 years. Already, around a quarter of Americans buy some of their groceries online. By 2025, consumers are estimated to spend more than $100 billion on delivered grocery items, according to the 2017 “Digitally Engaged Food Shopper” report by the Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen.
More than 100 e-commerce companies are taking grocery delivery a step further with pre-portioned meal kits. Subscription services including Blue Apron, HelloFresh and Plated provide the exact amount of every ingredient needed to cook a fresh meal at home.
These services promise not only convenience but also the opportunity to experiment with fresh fruits and vegetables that may not be easily accessible in a traditional grocery store. For example, Blue Apron, one of the largest meal kit companies, has purchased almost the entire commercial supplies of some obscure vegetables, including fairy tale eggplants. And the company “plans to do the same with Shokichi Shiro squash, Atlas carrots and at least 40 other specialty crops”, the Washington Post reports.
As technological advances give consumers increased control over the food they shop for and consume, they are creating a more educated and powerful consumer for produce marketers to address. And produce marketers are well positioned to meet the consumer’s expectations of quality, sustainability and convenience by becoming their trusted partner and problem solver. Some ways to do this include:
• Offering convenience in products and the experience (ex: meal solutions; click & collect)
• Emphasizing choices and building full meals with mix-and-match options
• Innovating with flavors, ingredients, and customizable options
• Leveraging global flavors with local suppliers/product