Produce market for food service sees improvement
By Bob Johnson
pers to adjust their strategies for selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Henke said he expects produce for the food service market to return to pre-pan- demic levels in 2028. Food service establishments in 2023 purchased 13.7 billion pounds of produce, including 9.6 billion pounds of vegetables and 4.1 billion pounds of fruits. Henke said the sector is expected to continue growing by 2% annually, with sales of vegetables
growing slightly faster than fruits. Restaurants account for nearly half the fresh produce used by the food service sec- tor. Top vegetables are tomatoes, onions and lettuce. “Significantly more operators are still using fresh rather than frozen or dehydrat- ed because that’s what consumers want,” Henkes said. A challenge for shippers is to deliver fresh produce that does not spoil before being provided to customers because “costs are dire right now, and food services operators are cautious about waste,” Henkes said. Food service operators are experiencing high labor costs, which have surged by 30% since the pandemic, Henkes said. Labor costs are even higher in California, he added. Despite the challenges, he said there are opportunities for fresh produce in restau- rants, driven these days by a “health and wellness appeal to consumers.” “But it’s got to fit into a menu consumers want,” he said. At the conference, the Coosemans, a Los Angeles specialty produce and shipping firm, introduced the Essential Mixologist, a produce line of dehydrated fruits and vegetables designed for use by bartenders, baristas and chefs. Showcased items in- clude shelf-stable citrus slices for cocktails. Market opportunities are also increas- ing for breakfast items and food delivery, Henkes said, noting that shippers could do well in partnering with restaurants to try new things that might catch on. Joe Watson, vice president for re- tail, foodservice and wholesale for the International Fresh Produce Association, added, “I think they have to take that risk, and produce suppliers need to get in on that process.” While restaurants are the largest food- service operators, other sectors are becom- ing more important. “There are some big opportunities in education, travel, leisure and recreation, including casinos and stadiums,” Henkes said. “The business traveler is back. The events business is great, but the leisure traveler is more budget-focused.” (Bob Johnson is a reporter in Monterey County. He may be contacted at bjohn11135@gmail.com.)
tegic partnerships at Technomic, which provides analytics for the food service and beverage industries. Henkes discussed the swings in the produce market for food service at the Food Service Conference held last month in Monterey. Starting in 2020, COVID-19 restrictions closed restaurants, and consumers turned to preparing more meals at home, he not- ed. The closures forced many grower-ship-
Fresh produce purchases by the food service sector continue to recover but still haven’t fully bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic when restaurants faced widespread closures. “We’ve rebounded pretty much from that slump, but we are still only back to 90% of pre-pandemic levels,” said David Henkes, senior principal and head of stra-
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