The Produce category is at the heart of the retail food store – its categories of fruit, vegetables, salad and horticulture are the core of shopping baskets. Produce reaches further into prepared food than before with stir fry, prepared vegetables and fruits, bagged salads, dips and sauces all forming part of the produce category. With consumer campaigns like ‘5 a day’ now more embedded in the consumer psyche, produce has an enduring appeal.
With the trend towards semi prepared ‘scratch’ cooking and meal preparation growing, the blurred lines between the produce and ready meal categories continues to give rise to different perceptions by retailers, consumers, merchandising.
