More shopping means more veggies on Aussie plates

The death of the weekly
shop could be delivering big benefits to Australians’ health, according to new
research which has found that grocery shopping more often can lead to eating
more fresh vegetables.

The research, highlighted in the latest Project Harvest consumer research
report from Colmar Brunton, suggests that more frequent shopping trips lead to
more expenditure on and higher consumption of fresh produce.

The study suggests that just 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.

AUSVEG is the leading horticultural body representing more than 9,000
Australian vegetable and potato growers.

“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 Mr 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 that “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 Mr 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.”

Project Harvest is funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia using the
National Vegetable Levy and matched funds from the Australian Government.