A consumer survey earlier this year on favourite fruits commissioned by Fyffes ranks pineapples at number ten as the fruit most consumed in the last six months. The emergence of pineapples as a frontline fruit on a par with traditional big-selling varieties such as bananas, apples and oranges has been confirmed in a consumer survey conducted by Nielsen on behalf of global tropical fruit producers and distributors, Fyffes.
The research confirms that pineapples, once a dessert favourite, have grown in their appeal to become a daily delight. Amongst pineapple consumers interviewed, the appeal that it has as a satisfying treat ranked highest with 31% of respondents claiming ‘to treat myself’ as their top reason to eat pineapple.
Second best reason, quoted by 24% of pineapple consumers surveyed, was ‘to support my healthy diet’ underscoring the health values that consumers look to pineapple to deliver.
Third top reason given by 20% of those surveyed was ‘to satisfy my appetite’ – one that Fyffes notes is “sufficiently important that it outranked 15 other strong and emotionally-valid reasons offered by consumers interviewed”.
Other consumer tastes revealed in the survey show that pineapples are mainly eaten with a partner (44%) or family (26%) at home.
Best liked as a dessert (34%), or as a snack between meals (32%), or as an ingredient (21%), other findings of interest to retailers show that 36% of respondents make a spontaneous purchase, attracted by appealing fruit on the shelf or well presented fruit in a separate aisle as a second point of sale instore.
Surprisingly, in the context of value-for-money, a smaller size fruit (1.2 kg) was preferred by the greatest number of European consumers (36%) with only 4% opting for the largest example (2.8kg).
Fyffes continue to innovate in the pineapple category. Speaking on this topic, Adriano Di Dia, Chief Marketing Officer with Fyffes says:
“Our consumer market research gives us important and valuable insights which guide our category vision and marketing strategies. We are constantly innovating our pineapple portfolio. In fact, this year, we launched our premium Fyffes Special Reserve pineapples. Our partners – Rewe Germany and Carrefour Spain – have both launched Fyffes Special Reserve which is grown by experts and picked at perfection, these pineapples boast a richer golden hue, a sweeter taste, and a juicier texture.
Furthermore, over the last couple of years our scary pineapples for Halloween have been a fantastic success, delighting consumers and customers and preventing food waste and of course, pineapples are a favourite for Christmas so we’re expecting to see an uplift in sales this season. We are equally proud that in 2026 we will bring new and refreshing Fyffes brand pineapple concepts to market in collaboration with select retailers.
Over recent years we have promoted the ‘crownless’ pineapple which facilitates packing and space for the shopper, as well as transport from Central America and reduces waste and another consumer-focused ‘sales-builder’ is the wider availability of our-branded pick-‘n-go cartons of pre-cut, ready-to-eat pineapple chunks.
What is very exciting however is that this research is telling us that pineapples have become an all year round choice for consumers and thanks to our own pineapple farm in Costa Rica and our fruit supply partners we guarantee high quality pineapple produce.”
