Billion-Dollar Babies
America's youngest consumers are a powerful influence in the supermarket produce aisle.
We all do it—as parents, the decisions we make about what to put in our shopping baskets are often based on the belief that our kids will eat it, or at least the hope that they will.
Take grapes, for example. Market researchers at Chicago-based Mintel found that families with three or more children are 27 percent more likely that those without kids to have purchased grapes in the past month.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg lettuce.
According to the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., at the tender age of 3, children already wield billions in buying power. The division's research found that 3- to 5-year-olds have an annual purchasing influence of $15 billion, 6- to 8-year-olds have $45 billion, 9- to 11-year-olds have $65 billion, and 15- to 17-year-olds influence a staggering $90 billion in purchases. Cornell further found that parents are two to three times more likely to point to their child as the family expert on choosing fast food, snack foods, restaurants and new breakfast cereals.
At the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) Fresh Connections: Retail event held in Sonoma, Calif., earlier this summer, PMA EVP and COO Lorna Christie put the industry's future into perspective: "Kids today spend seven hours a day in the e-world. They will be the most sophisticated consumers ever." She urged retailers to market with these young people, rather than to them.
Those supermarkets that are already using apps, website pages, QR codes and in-store promotions to get kids and their parents more involved with fresh produce are wisely building relationships with their youngest customers now.
For instance, the Whole Foods in Town and Country, Mich., features a new "Kids Club" section of its website and store calendar. Here you'll find a slew of events for kids that involve produce and healthful eating, as well as story time, tours and classes. The Austin, Texas-based retailer, which has a designated Kids Club coordinator, even offers a full menu of kid-themed birthday parties available for purchase that take place at the store.
Cosmopolitan Kids
Today's kids are decidedly more sophisticated than previous generations. They're media- and tech-savvy, and they travel and go out to dinner more than ever before. Indeed, some even take cooking classes and host catered parties.
At several Wegmans stores in New York and one in Maryland, the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer offers "Cooking With Kids—Fruits and Veggies Take a Dip" classes. These Wegmans locations invite parents to bring their kids in to learn about making five fruits and vegetables a day a tasty reality, as well as the importance of "Eating a Rainbow" of colors. The hands-on class has kids preparing their own snacks, from fruit kabobs to guacamole with cucumbers.
Preparing their own snacks is one thing. But say little Sally needs finger foods for her upcoming soirée. Not to worry. Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix's website lists a "Kids Platters" section under its "Food & Entertaining" offerings, with a variety of healthful and tempting selections such as Honey and Banana Roll-Ups, Peanut Butter and Fruit Roll-Ups, and a Fruit 'n Nut Roll-Up Platter made with flatbread, cream cheese, preserves, bananas, dried cranberries, walnuts and fresh strawberries.
"We are definitely seeing a shift in the sophistication of kids' flavor profiles, and believe this sophistication continues to develop as trends change—particularly now with the organic and health food craze," says Fabian Milon, CEO and founder of Coral Gables, Fla.-based Ouhlala Gourmet, the company behind the kid-friendly Buddy Fruits brand.
"Kids eat what their parents eat, and if that means blackcurrant and coconut milk, then that's what they'll enjoy," he says. "You can see the shift coming to life as new kids' products are mimicking the trends that are occurring in the health food industry."
Ouhlala Gourmet has recently introduced two new products to the Buddy Fruits line: Coconut Milk & Fruit and Superfruit in 4.2-ounce pouches. The fun and nutrition-focused brand is targeting both kids and their parents with these new products that hit on the coconut milk and antioxidant trends.
Next month, PG will look at the hottest new products and trends in produce for kids.
"We are definitely seeing a shift in the sophistication of kids' flavor profiles, and believe this sophistication continues to develop as trends change."
—Fabian Milon, Ouhlala Gourmet
"Kids today spend seven hours a day in the e-world. They will be the most sophisticated consumers ever."
—Lorna Christie, PMA
Healthy Food for the Whole Family
Produce for Kids (PFK), an Orlando, Fla.-based organization that encourages healthy eating among families by providing meal solutions and resources for parents, while raising funds for local children's nonprofit groups, has just wrapped up successful summer promotions at supermarkets around the country.
The "Get Healthy, Give Hope" campaign hosted by PFK at Portland, Ore.-based Fred Meyer Stores, Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix's markets and others, invited shoppers to help support local children's hospitals simply by buying more produce.
Village Farms of Eatontown, N.J., helped to sponsor the PFK promotion with its Juicy Beefsteak Tomatoes and Delectable Tomatoes-on-the-Vine. "I think we're just realizing how important this really is," Village Farms Marketing Manager Helen Aquino says, referring to the need for healthful meal ideas. "People want quick solutions that include more produce for them and their families."
Aquino believes that suppliers and retailers alike need to focus on recipes and educating consumers about how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diets. While she says Village Farms has "just scratched the surface on this," with a host of recipes on its website, she adds that the company has a number of innovative programs in the works that will address consumer demand for quick and easy produce-rich meal solutions.