Analysis of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Sales at Retail

Joe Watson VP of Retail, Foodservice & Wholesale International Fresh Produce Association headshot "Fruit has outperformed vegetables for more than five years and August was no exception. While berries are king in sales and sales growth, fruit gains are supported by a wide range of commodities. This includes traditional powerhouses like bananas, but also tropical and specialty fruits that grew 4.5% in August.

Kiwis, papayas, pineapples, pomegranates and dragon fruit are gaining momentum, fueled by Gen Z and Millennial appetite for trying something new."

- Joe Watson, IFPA’s VP of Retail, Foodservice and Wholesale

August 2025

What's New

Flat-to-Down Unit Trajectory for Total Food and Beverages

Consumer prices rose 2.9% in August, the largest jump since January, while jobless claims hit a four-year high.
The University of Michigan reported a decline in U.S. consumer sentiment in August from 61.7 in July to 58.2 in August. This marks the first decline in four months, driven by heightened concern about inflation.
August’s total retail food and beverage sales remained on the flat-to-down unit trajectory seen throughout the past several months. In Circana’s MULO+ universe, dollar sales increased 2.7% in August, but units dropped 0.4% compared with August 2024. Non-food categories experienced a 0.7% decline in unit sales, just like center-store grocery. Perishables eked out a 0.1% increase in units, combined with a 3.6% increase in dollar sales.

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Value-seeking is driving channel shifting, a focus on essentials and promotional responsiveness. Yet, consumers continue to show willingness to trade up for quality and wellness benefits.
Supermarkets, known for their hi-lo pricing, generated 42.2% of all food and beverage unit sales in August, down from 47.3% in 2021. Channels that grew share include mass, club and e-commerce.
Grocery visits increased 2.6% year-over-year, averaging 17.1 per household in the past four weeks. To balance spending, consumers purchased fewer units per trip (-1.6%) for an average of 8.8 items.
After weeks of stability and improvement for some channels, restaurant traffic declined 1% in August, according to Circana. Premium dining gained momentum, with an increase in restaurant visits for fine dining and casual restaurants. Deal-driven traffic grew, while non-deal trips fell.