Aussies big on carrots, but size still matters

But a lack of smaller pack size options compared to the US and UK could be disadvantaging even greater sales and consumption of the popular healthy product, the industry’s Veginsights report for November has found.

Spokesperson for AUSVEG, Andrew White said that while consumers were buying an average of 705 grams of carrots when they selected them from the loose display area, compared to the extensive US and UK ranges of packed carrots, Australian consumers were limited in their choice to only three packed sizes of 500g, 750g and 1kg.

“There are certainly opportunities to add value in the Australian market. Given the absence of smaller pack sizes in Australia, it appears that extra value per kilogram is not being captured and that consumer preference could potentially be better met with a greater variety of options,” Mr White said.

“It might be time for growers and the rest of the supply chain to reconsider whether smaller portions are appropriate for the Australia market, including milled or baby carrots. Indeed, product offerings across a range of different vegetable types should be continually assessed to determine if they are worth exploring further,” he said.

In the US there are five different pack size options available for carrots under 500 grams, while in the UK three different size options under 500 grams are available to consumers.

The Veginsights report also found that 57 per cent of carrot buyers spend less than $75 per shopping trip, indicating that while carrots are purchased on most types of shopping trips, they are more likely to be purchased on smaller ‘top up’ shops than anything else.

“This may indicate that consumers are more comfortable purchasing carrots as an impulse purchase on these smaller ‘top up’ shopping trips, which are often unplanned,” Mr White said.