Fresh fruit and vegetables are commodities that have, in recent times, experienced greater levels of competition within the marketplace.  Stakeholders involved with all aspects of the production and sale of these items have recognised, and are continuing to place greater importance on, measures that will improve profitability and competitiveness.

The horticulture and viticulture industries of the Adelaide Plains are examples of such stakeholders that have experienced and observed the increased competition within the fruit and vegetable market.  As a result, the Sustainable Regions Program was developed - a joint initiative between the Virginia Horticulture Centre, City of Playford and PIRSA Horticulture.  The focus of the project is to maximise market development opportunities and advances in new and sustainable technologies through development of new products for the Adelaide Plains' region.

Stage 1 of the sustainable Regions' Value Adding Adelaide Plains' project has been completed, and focused mainly on identifying new market trends and product opportunities.  To make the Adelaide Plains horticulture and viticulture industries more competitive in domestic markets, it was recognised that these industries need to move towards supplying products that are higher in value, occupy a niche role in the market, are unique, and are developed in response to the needs of consumers.  Thus, the second stage of the project has also included a consumer component to better understand consumer purchase behaviour and drivers.

Rural Solutions SA developed the consumer research component of this project with design of a 3-part research programme, and contracted the services of New Focus, a national market research company, to undertake the investigations.  The research programme aimed to identify:

• Consumer shopping behaviour in relation to purchase and consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Comparisons between state consumer behaviour and actual behaviour.
• Identification of consumer purchase drivers and preferences for fresh value-added produce (especially salads and vegetables), particularly the extent of influence from households; media (magazines & newspapers); restaurants; cooking of family and friends; ease of finding produce (availability); and other influences.
• Consumer perceptions of value-added fresh produce.
• Identification of key global gourmet product trends and "influencers" of consumer purchase drivers within two key influencer groups - chefs and seed companies.

The investigations produced findings from three separate research areas that concerned the identification of consumer needs and drivers relating to fresh fruit and vegetables:

• Product testing - qualitative and quantitative research evaluating the purchase, preparation and consumption of fresh produce.
• In-store research - quantitative research providing insight into the consumer decision-making process at the point of purchase.
• Influencers - qualitative research with two identified groups that influence consumer purchase behaviour.

Whilst contributing to the Sustainable Regions' Value Adding Adelaide Plains' project, the intelligence gained is applicable across all regions of South Australian Horticulture.

Project Leaders:  Karen Shepherd and Mark Drew
For copies of the report:  Angela Ramsden