In the midst of fluctuating consumer sentiment and a shifting retail landscape, the fresh produce department saw a Tale of Two Categories in August.
After mild growth in July, the first in many months, vegetable dollar and volume sales once again fell behind year-ago levels, while fruit had a very strong month, representing eight of the top 10 growth commodities in absolute dollar gains within the grocery industry, according to a report by Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics.
August Retail Review
Consumer prices rose 2.9 percent 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 to 58.2 in August from 61.7 in July. This marks the first decline in four months and was 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 percent in August, but units dropped 0.4 percent compared with August 2024.
Value-seeking is driving channel shifting, a focus on essentials and promotional responsiveness. Yet, consumers continue to show a willingness to trade up for quality and wellness benefits.
Supermarkets, known for their hi-lo pricing, generated 42.2 percent of all food and beverage unit sales in August, down from 47.3 percent in 2021. Channels that grew share include mass, club and e-commerce.
Inflation Insights
In August 2025, during the five weeks ending Aug. 31, the price per unit across all foods and beverages in the Circana MULO+ universe stood at $4.37, reflecting a renewed upswing in inflation. The average price per unit for total food and beverages increased 3.1 percent, primarily driven by commodity volatility impacting categories both directly and indirectly.
Center-store prices averaged $4.12, an increase of 3 cents over July and 3.3 percent year-on-year. Perishables rose to $4.31 per unit, a 3.4 percent increase over August 2024.
August produce prices reflected 3.5 percent inflation for fresh fruit, above the rate of overall food and beverage inflation. After many months of deflation, fresh vegetable prices increased by 1.2 percent to an average of $2.03 per pound.
Fresh Produce Sales
August 2025 delivered $9.3 billion in fresh produce sales, making produce the third-largest department behind meat and refrigerated (dairy). Dollar sales increased 2.9 percent year-over-year and volume gained 0.6 percent.
Once more, fruit drove all the growth on both the dollar and volume sides. Vegetable sales were mostly flat in dollars, but down 1.3 percent in pounds.
Much like fresh fruit outperformed fresh vegetables, frozen fruit also led the charge in the frozen food department. Combined, frozen fruit and vegetables generated $953 million, with increases in dollars, units and pounds. Shelf-stable fruit and vegetable sales continued to decline.
Top Performers
Berries, melons and grapes dominated sales on the fruit side. Berries generated more than $1 billion in the five August weeks, with pounds up more than 9 percent. Others with volume growth included bananas, avocados, cherries, peaches, mandarins and pineapples. Apples were the only top 10 category that lost ground in pounds.
Overall, vegetables lost ground in dollars and pounds. For the first time in years, all top 10 vegetable sellers lost ground in pounds. Salad kits, lettuce and mushrooms had the highest rates of decline. Tomatoes, potatoes, peppers and carrots came closest to year-ago levels.
Sales during the individual August weeks ranged from $1.8 billion to $1.9 billion. While all five weeks generated dollar gains, the first and fifth weeks lost ground in volume. The middle weeks booked strong gains, offsetting those declines. Fruit sales drove the majority of dollar and volume sales, with strong contributions by berries.
Produce Absolute Dollar Gains
Across the top 10 commodities that added the most new dollars in August, berries were king. A comparison of August 2025 to August 2024 shows a gain of nearly $90 million for the berry category. Cherries were a strong second, adding $57 million compared to last year. Sweet potatoes and potatoes were the only vegetables to make the top 10 dollar growth list in August.
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