The Produce Reporter Week in Review May 2, 2025  

This week the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) BB #:378962 held its annual retail conference and its Foundation for Fresh Produce BB #:157162 held its annual Consumer Connection Conference in Plano, TX, which I attended. 

An idea hit me how the produce industry can better address motivation to raise consumption. 

Consumer Connection 

The eternal struggle for our industry is raising produce consumption. Fortunately, we have some tailwinds in several areas. Produce is perfect for snacking, as that trend rises, being pushed by millennials and Gen Z.  

The rise in usage of GLP-1 medications for helping diabetes and weight loss has led to those taking it to seek out fruits and vegetables in addition to protein. 

Economic uncertainty has hurt foodservice but generally helped retail, which is a place more people buy fruits and vegetables. 

We’ve moved beyond the education phase with consumers. They know produce is good for them but they’re not eating more. That’s a problem. 

We need better motivation. 

In a column this week, I suggested fighting tougher, meaning, appeal to personal health but also vanity. Want to feel better? Want to look better? Eat more produce. 

Those of us in the industry need to model this and live the “half a plate” recommendations – with our families, with our friends, in social settings. We have to normalize half a plate. 

There’s also a good political angle that the produce industry can exploit. 

Next month, IFPA will hold its annual Washington Conference, where we will meet with senators and representatives and their staffs.  

We need to appeal to partisan politics. 

When addressing Republicans, we need to insist fresh produce become a bigger part of the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda. 

In a separate column, I interviewed Mollie Van Lieu, vice president of nutrition and health at IFPA, who said in IFPA’s communication with the Trump administration and MAHA leaders, they show a commitment to improving health but not any kind of emphasis on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption.  

We need to push that harder. 

When addressing Democrats on the hill, we should encourage Democrat leadership to shame the Trump administration for not promoting and supporting fruits and vegetables more.  

Do they really believe in MAHA? Produce is the easy answer. 

While improving produce consumption is a bipartisan issue, we can use it as a partisan wedge as the two parties fight against other. 

We should encourage both parties to give more funding to fruits and vegetables in government feeding programs, and the ones who push it harder can be the winners with the voting public. 

Retail Conference 

Of course, we had to address tariffs and their effect on retail and the produce department.  

Jonna Parker with Circana shared data that showed U.S. consumers have little confidence in the economy and have an expectation that inflation will rise above 6 percent this year.  

Tariffs are a big reason they expect this, as she said fruit and vegetable prices are the No.1 grocery item that consumers expect will rise because of tariffs. 

Thus far, these fears have not been realized, as the March Consumer Price Index actually showed fruit and vegetable deflation, and tariffs have not led to retail price increases, although several speakers said since they started less than a month ago, their effect simply haven’t shown up in the supply chain yet. 

What’s the solution?  

IFPA’s Joe Watson said it’s time for retailers and suppliers to work more closely with each other. They should work on trust and transparency and work more for the long term. 

Retailers who show this kind of business courage could reap the rewards, but it’s been a generational problem, so I’ll take a wait-and-see stance.