The British Growers Association, UK, launched its first ever survey of fresh produce packaging. The survey uses data from British Grower’s ProduceView market intelligence survey, and provides an independent overview of fresh fruit and vegetable packaging type by category and retailer.

“Retail packaging is highly topically at the present time, and we are all aware that the fresh produce industry and its customers want to provide packaging that is efficient, provides the best offer for the consumer and is sustainable,” says Jack Ward, chief executive. “Up until now, there was no independent source of information to enable packers and retailers to make decisions. ProduceView is the perfect tool for gathering this type of data, as it uses independent data collected weekly from a representative sample of all sector of retailer.”

Overall, the survey shows that plastic wrap is the most popular form of packaging, with more than 49% of products using it. Loose produce is behind at 15.5%.

Country of origin appears to have little influence on the mix of packaging, and in fact, produce from Europe and the rest of the world is more likely to be sold loose than produce grown in England.

The survey also provides information on packaging type by fruit and vegetable category and looks at average price vs. packaging type by retailer. Loose products are not always cheaper than packaged.

“The report provides an overview of the research we have carried out, but we have more than 3,000 lines of data providing a comprehensive view of the current state of fresh produce packaging,” adds Ward. “We can offer detailed analysis and give people an overview of the powerful tool that we have in ProduceView. It is unique in providing historical data as well current information on price, variety, country of origin, etc., and real-time pictures of store fixtures. We aim to run the survey every 6 months and report on developments.”