The global frozen fruits and vegetable market will grow at an annual rate of 5.34% and reach 751 million tons by 2027, according to a report published by Market Research Future, Woburn, Mass. Changing consumption patterns, busy schedules, the demand for newer flavors and ingredients and convenience contribute to this growth.

The report, “Global Market Study on Frozen Fruits: Upsurge in Demand from Industrial Customers to Drive Market Growth over the Forecast Period 2016-2022,” shows a similar forecast for the global frozen fruit market, projecting annual growth at 5.32% by 2022. It seems the demand for frozen fruits like tropical fruits and citrus fruits, red fruits, kiwi, apricots and berries will be higher than others due to their use in baked goods, dairy products and confectionery items. In the frozen vegetable segments, spinach and legumes will see substantial growth due to the rise in demand for ready-to-eat foods.

Millennials and Gen Zs are also driving the growth in fresh and frozen vegetable consumption, according to a study released by The NPD Group, Chicago. However, many of their parents are not eating their fair share. The study, “A Generational Study:  The Evolution of Eating,” says younger consumers under 40 have increased the annual eatings per capita of fresh vegetables by 52% and frozen vegetables by 59% over the last decade. Boomers (60 and up), on the other hand, decreased their consumption of fresh vegetables by 30% and frozen vegetables by 4% over the same period.

Increased consumption of fresh vegetables is an outcome of the shift to fresh foods among young consumers over the last decade. Generational change is also partly responsible for the move to fresh, as younger consumers are adopting fresh at a much earlier age than the generations before them. Over the next several years, fresh vegetable consumption is forecast to increase by 10%, an increase that will be tempered by the lower eating rates of Boomers.

Meanwhile, new research from the Frozen Food Foundation, a not-for-profit organization affiliated with the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI), McLean, Va., shows consumers who eat frozen fruits and vegetables eat more fruits and vegetables overall. In fact, when consumers of frozen fruits and vegetables were compared to non-consumers, the results showed frozen fruit and vegetable consumers eat more total fruits and vegetables than non-consumers; consumers of frozen fruits and vegetables have significantly higher intakes of nutrients of concern—potassium, dietary fiber, calcium and vitamin D; and adult consumers of frozen fruits and vegetables have significantly lower BMI than non-consumers.

Similarly, research from University of Warwick, UK, indicates that eating more fruit and vegetables can substantially increase people’s happiness levels. The researchers concluded that people who changed from almost no fruit and vegetables to eight portions of fruit and vegetables a day would experience an increase in life satisfaction equivalent to moving from unemployment to employment. The well-being improvements occurred within 24 months.

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