Limited shopping trips at the beginning of the pandemic fueled the growth of frozen vegetables, as their lengthy shelf life made it possible to have fresh-frozen veggies on a regular basis without another trip to the market. Disappointing online shopping experiences of receiving bruised tomatoes and discolored cauliflower also steered shoppers to choose frozen, or even shelf-stable, over fresh vegetables. Still, fresh fruits and vegetables had the majority share (77%) in 2020, but was down 7 percentage points, losing share to the sturdier categories. "Throughout the pandemic, frozen fruits and vegetables had the highest growth, but were the smallest of the three temperature zones in retail," says Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, San Antonio, Texas. In 2020, frozen fruit and vegetables rose 21.9% in sales, versus 9.9% for fresh, according to IRI. Vegetable sales have outpaced fruit sales throughout the pandemic and have generated double-digit growth since the onset of the pandemic shopping patterns in mid-March.
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