TomatoesNZ commissioned a Nielsen Homescan research report in August to understand fresh tomato consumers and shopper purchase dynamics. This information has been instrumental in informing domestic market promotion this summer.
Key findings:
5.6% value growth for tomatoes in the previous year, with positive growth across all tomato purchase metrics - all tomato types have gained buyers, were purchased more often and had higher spend per shop.
Core tomato buyers are adults over 45 years. Younger shoppers and households with younger children buy fewer tomatoes.
Barcoded (packaged) tomatoes account for more than half the category sales, but are purchased less frequently than loose tomatoes and showed lower growth in sales compared to loose during the year.
The average volume of fresh tomatoes per household shopper surveyed is currently 8.8 kilograms annually
"The research figures suggest there is an opportunity to increase loyalty and repeat purchasing among shoppers who already frequently purchased tomatoes, because tomato spend for the year did not increase as much as fresh vegetable spend," the organisation concludes.
