OAK BROOK, Ill. -- Almost half of the convenience store retailers who responded to a series of CSP Daily News polls are cashing in on the nationwide trend toward healthy eating by stocking fruit in their stores.
Following a report from The NPD Group stating that kids ages 2 to 12 prefer fruit as a snack over candy, gum or salty snacks, CSP Daily News inquired about how many of its readers are selling fruit. Turns out 49% stock either whole, fresh fruit (30%), prepackaged fruit (2%) or both (17%).
The manners in which those retailers [image-nocss] receive delivery of their fruit vary greatly. According to the results of a follow-up poll, the largest portion of respondents (31%) receives their fruit from their regular suppliers, while another 30% go through a designated wholesaler.
In addition, 18% use self-distribution methods to stock fruit, and 4% get their product direct from a farm. Seventeen percent of respondents said other or I'm not sure.
So what's the hot seller in c-stores when it comes to selling whole fruit? Almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) said bananas were their best-sellers, while Apples topped the bill for almost 25%. Two percent or fewer respondents said oranges or limes (Thank you, Corona!) were their sop-selling fruits. No one chose lemons, and 7% said other or I'm not sure.
Finally, we asked how many units of whole fruit retailers were selling each day per store. Forty-three percent said 19 or fewer pieces were being sold each day. Twelve percent were in the 20s, 10% were in the 30s, 2% were in the 40s, and 6% were breaking the 50-or-more barrier.
The above results were collected over four days of polling earlier this month. The results are based on between 83 and 165 responses per question.Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.