The vegetable industry is looking for ways to increase vegetable consumption. With a though that consumers might be buying fewer vegetables for fear of wasting them, this project sought to explore the potential for optimising portion sizes to drive increased purchase and consumption.

To find out how shoppers decide what to buy, researchers conducted 150 in-store surveys in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. They then held 10 consumer workshops to get further information on purchasing decisions and what shoppers considered to be the optimum portion in order to avoid waste. They were asked about six vegetables: carrots, pumpkin, cabbage, cauliflower, celery and broccoli.

To ensure that new portion sizes were feasible for retailers, growers and processors, the team consulted with industry and other relevant stakeholders. This process allowed decision making on which portion sizes were worthy of being trialled.

This project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using the research and development levies listed below and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.

• Vegetable Fund