Top ten favourite vegetables for the festive season unveiled
The most popular vegetables specifically purchased for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in Australia were revealed in a study released by AUSVEG.
“For many people around Australia, the Christmas and New Year period is a time to enjoy a meal with family and friends, which is likely to drive consumer purchasing of specific festive vegetables for these occasions,” said Andrew White, AUSVEG Manager of Industry Development and Communications.
The survey of 621 people showed the top ten favourite festive vegetables were:
1. Potatoes
2. Carrots
3. Tomatoes
4. Lettuce
5. Pumpkins
6. Green Peas
7. Cucumbers
8. White Onion
9. Sweet Potato
10. Broccoli
AUSVEG is Australia’s leading horticulture body representing 9,000 vegetable and potato growers.
“What the research also reveals is that these top ten festive vegetables are often served with each other,” said Mr White.
“For example, potatoes accompanied carrots about 70 per cent of the time when served, and tomatoes accompanied lettuce about 80 per cent of the time.”
“This vegetable trend is very interesting, as it might explain why these vegetables in particular make the cut for the top ten in consumers’ eyes,” said Mr White.
“Because roasting vegetables was found to be the most popular method of preparing vegetables for the Christmas period, pumpkins, carrots and potatoes were always going to be a strong contender for a place in the top ten festive vegetables,” said Mr White.
The data comes from Project Harvest, an ongoing consumer and market study which tracks consumer trends in relation to a variety of fresh vegetables.
The research project has been funded through HAL using the National Vegetable Levy and matched funds from the Australian Government.
MEDIA CONTACT: Andrew White, Manager of Industry Development and Communications, AUSVEG; Phone: (03) 9882 0277 Mobile: 0409 989 575 E-mail: andrew.white@ausveg.com.au