Consumers are increasingly seeking healthier snacking options. More and more supermarket customers are searching for noshing on simple nuts and dried fruit. Nut and dried fruit suppliers are reporting double-digit growth. Certainly, grocers are appealing to health-minded customers by expanding their offerings in the organic and natural categories. Aldi US revealed that healthier food options are being moved closer to the check lanes at nearly 1,500 locations. Amazon has just bought Whole Foods to make organic, affordable.
Single-serve nuts, trail mixes, dried fruit, and granola bars are replacing candy and chocolates. Safeway introduced a self-serve, pay-by-the-pound section. In addition, this new section features a variety of nuts, dried fruit, and trail mixes under the Truly Good Foods brand. The departments offer clear nutritional and ingredient labels and instructions on how to shop for them, says Chad Hartman, Director Of Marketing for Tropical Foods, producer of the Truly Good Foods brand. “For us, the category (dried fruit and nuts) has grown double digits for as long as I remember,” notes Hartman. Tropical Foods is expanding with the ‘My Salad Bar’, salad toppings made with dried fruit and nuts. Hartman continues, “We are seeing some unique dried fruits hit the marketplace, such as kiwi, goji berries, and star fruit.”
A few years ago, goji berries were little known. They now make up 13 percent of the natural fruit category. Consumers now understand that berries are packed with fiber, iron, and antioxidants. One ounce of goji berries is equal to eight ounces of strawberries. Similarly, one ounce versus one cup’s worth. Pacific Tropicals, which sells mango, pineapple, and coconut products, has started selling prunes in packs of Sunsweet Individually Wrapped Prunes, dried fruit in a new modern packaging.
The on-the-go snacking drives much of the demand for dried fruit in 2022. (Click for on-the-go wrap recipes). Correspondingly, consumers also use it as an ingredient in everything from salads to baked goods to oatmeal. “Sales of dried fruit continue to grow, especially when merchandised near a complementary item,” affirms Joe Tamble, VP of Retail Sales Execution for Sun-Maid Growers of California. To capture these types of shoppers, the Kingsburg, California-based Sun-Maid, offers point-of-purchase displays and works with retailers to cross-promote. Finally, capturing the supermarket trends in 2023, promoting their dried fruit alongside nuts, croutons, salads, and fresh vegetables.
