CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 15, 2024) — Bananas are at the top of the list of “must-buy” fruits and vegetables for every shopper’s grocery trip, followed by grapes and apples.
Interestingly, and contrary to many retail displays showcasing intense yellow fruit, almost 3 in 10 shoppers prefer to eat them while they are still at least partially green.
And despite the banana’s ubiquity and universal appeal, the great majority of Americans remain unaware of the fruit’s distinction as the world’s most popular produce and one of the most-purchased items in the supermarket.
These are some of the ripe findings of a robust national survey conducted by OnePoll and commissioned by produce leader Dole Food Company BB #:124463 in advance of April 17’s National Banana Day to gauge Americans’ grocery-, produce- and banana-shopping habits, food needs and nutrition priorities.
The survey of 2,000 Americans March 14-16 is part of the Dole 125th Banana-versary (www.dole.com/en/125), the produce leader’s celebration throughout 2024 of its century and a quarter in the banana business.
“Since bananas reign supreme as one of the most-purchased items in not only the produce department but the entire supermarket, a study of banana buying and consumption habits can reveal a lot about Americans’ thoughts on grocery shopping, health and nutrition overall,” said William Goldfield, director of corporate communications for Dole. “As the most knowledgeable experts and brand behind the world’s most-requested banana, we need to keep up with the habits and desires of banana lovers both on National Banana Day and throughout the year.”
Said Goldfield: “There’s a unique opportunity here for Dole to work with retailers to put some of these survey findings in produce variety and ripeness, nutrition and shopping preferences to work for them to generate even better results across the entire produce department. Retailers who partner with Dole for a banana program can expect our 25 years of sustainable banana growing, unsurpassed account servicing and merchandising experience right at their stores.”
The banana-focused survey results include the following:
• 35% of respondents ranked bananas as a must-have grocery staple, which was more than any other produce and sixth on the list of all supermarket items, behind bread, eggs, meat, milk and coffee and ahead of chips, juice, pasta, frozen foods and yogurt.
• Bananas also ranked as the top impulse produce purchase
• 29% said they like eating bananas that were at least partially green including 6% that prefer the fruit mostly green. One-half of banana lovers want perfectly yellow fruit with no green or brown spots.
• Six in 10 Americans are unaware that bananas are the most-purchased item in the produce department and among the most popular items in the entire supermarket.
• Bananas ranked third as a sugar replacement in recipes and cooking behind honey and maple syrup but ahead of stevia, agave and monk fruit.
The survey also revealed a number of non-banana findings:
• Americans make an average of two trips to the supermarket each week and budget $162 for each trip, or $324 for the week.
• Those who shop on an empty stomach will spend an average of $26 more each time they shop. Close to six in 10 (59%) thought they were more likely to deviate from their health goals if they shopped while hungry.
• 56% of respondents regularly shop with a grocery list and close to eight in 10 (79%) say they are less likely to overspend when they do.
• Americans’ favorite time to grocery shop is 8:00-10:00 am and least-favorite time is 4:00-6:00 pm.
• Shoppers rank food variety, preparation quickness and convenience, high protein content and an inexpensive price as their highest food priorities.
• Almost four in 10 (39%) are willing to pay more for brands that commit to sourcing transparency and supply chain and environmental sustainability.
Dole is honoring its banana quasquicentennial with a year of contests, charity engagements, city proclamations, social media activations, Bobby Banana appearances, recipes, employee events and free digital downloads and giveaways across the county all designed to drive banana category engagement.
Also planned are multiple waves of Dole 125th Banana-versary stickers – featuring art saluting the people, the journey, the flavors, the earth and the heritage of Dole – on millions of DOLE® Bananas across the U.S. and Canada.
Dole is working with retailers throughout North America to bring National Banana Day and the Dole 125th Banana-versary to shoppers through dedicated displays, point-of-purchase materials and other in-store activations delivering the unique value proposition of Dole as the preferred partner in the banana category.
For continually updated information, go to Dole 125th Banana-versary landing page. Use hashtags #DoleBananaVersary, #DoleBananas125, #BananasForTheFuture, #BananaVersary and #Fresh4Future to join in on the conversation.
About Dole plc
Dole plc, is one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education. For more information, please visit www.dole.com.
