In the age of concerns about overall health and food safety, consumers are demanding more packaged produce, but is this counterintuitive to their sustainability desires?

November 29, 2021

A best-of-both-worlds solution is what retail executives are tasked to provide when it comes to fresh produce and packaging. On one hand, the mounting demand for fruits and vegetables marketed in consumer-style bags, boxes and clamshells is nothing new. Case in point, produce packaging was projected to grow 4 percent annually back in 2018, according to the Produce Packaging Market in the U.S., by the Cleveland, OH-headquartered Fredonia Group.

On the other hand, sustainability — especially when it comes to packaging — has become one of the biggest issues in the food industry today, according to the 2020 Sustainable Packaging Report, sponsored by the Fibre Box Association, P&G and Kwik Lok.

Now, with COVID-19 concerns about shoppers in stores touching loose produce, combined with greater retail food purchases driven by more cooking at home, consumers want the win-win of having their produce packaged and that packaging remains sustainable too. While retailers are on the front line to deliver on this paradox, the solution is one being driven by retailers, growers/shippers, packaging companies and consumers themselves alike.

THE PROBLEM
“We are seeing more demand for packaged products. I believe it is not only consumers concerned with other people handling their food or minimizing touchpoints along the supply chain but also the ease of buying something packaged. It gets them in and out of the store quicker.”

This is especially true since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, we no longer have an open salad bar. Instead, we converted that area this summer to what we call our grilling bar, where we offer 2 packs of items like zucchini, peppers and eggplant that shoppers could easily grab, take home and grill. We’ll continue this upcoming with a fall theme.”

Grower/shippers are simultaneously hearing the call for more retail

Sustainable packaging is a huge initiative for our retail customers that we have been collaborating on for several years now,“Initially when COVID-19 hit, the retailers were scrambling to keep produce on the shelves. Now that things have settled down, we are beginning to interact more with retailers about their packaging initiatives again. More and more retailers are sending out yearly packaging assessments, primarily around plastic content.”

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