Carrot Country

Factors Affecting Carrot Consumption in the United States

Carrot Country
Fall 2007

By Gary Lucier and Biing-Hwan Lin
USDA Economic Research Service

Non-Hispanic Whites and Asians Are Dominant Carrot Consumers

According to the ACNielsen panel data for 1998-2003, non-Hispanic White consumers represent 71 percent of the population but consume 80 percent of all at-home carrots (table 5). Extrapolating the 1998-2003 Homescan panel data to 2005 disappearance statistics indicates that non-Hispanic White consumers used the fresh-weight equivalent of 10.7 pounds per person of carrots in foods consumed at home. Asians (a category that includes Pacifi c Islanders), the most rapidly growing racial class in the Nation, followed closely with 10.3 pounds per person. Asians represent just 2 percent of the U.S. population, but consume 3 percent of all at-home carrots.

The other racial/ethnic categories (non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic) consumed fewer carrots than the national average. Hispanics, a rapidly growing component of the population, are not currently heavy carrot consumers, and may represent a promotional challenge for the industry. Between 1990 and 2000, census data indicate that the U.S. Asian population expanded by 50 percent, compared with 45 percent for Hispanics and 14 percent for non-Hispanic Blacks. Asian consumers used 9.1 pounds of freshmarket carrots—the most among all identifi ed racial/ethnic groups (table 7). Popular in Chinese stir-fry dishes, carrots are also found in a host of recipes. In addition to traditional fresh green salads and cooked carrots, carrots routinely appear in such fare as soups, stews, casseroles, salad entrees,
meat entrees, dips, desserts, and a wide variety of vegetable side dishes.

Future use of carrots by non-Hispanic Whites will likely depend on increasing per capita use, rather than population expansion. Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. non-Hispanic White population grew by just
4 percent, and the Bureau of the Census projects that it will increase just 7 percent by 2030. During the same time, the U.S. population as a whole is expected to increase 28 percent—meaning non-Hispanic Whites will continue to account for a declining share of the country’s population and, by association, a declining share of the carrot market.

During 2003, people of Hispanic descent accounted for nearly 13 percent of the population, yet reported consuming about 10 percent of all carrots (table 5). The at-home per capita carrot consumption of Hispanic consumers was 29 percent below the National average, but was one-third greater than that of Black consumers. Hispanic at-home carrot use consisted of an estimated 5.4 pounds of fresh carrots and 1.4 pounds of processing carrots. About 70 percent of at-home carrot consumption of Hispanics consisted of fresh-cut carrots—the largest fresh-cut share among racial/ethnic groups and above the
national average of 64 percent (table 7). This is an important market segment for the carrot industry since Hispanics have now surpassed Blacks as the second-largest racial/ethnic group and are growing quickly.

The Nielsen Homescan data indicate that carrots, especially fresh-market products, play a limited role in the diets of many Black consumers. Non-Hispanic Blacks represented nearly 12 percent of the U.S. population but accounted for just 6 percent of all carrots purchased at retail and consumed at home (table 5). At 5.0 pounds, per capita carrot consumption by Black consumers in 2005 was the lowest of any racial/ethnic group studied. Mirroring distributions provided by the CSFII a decade earlier, Blacks consumed just 3.2 pounds of freshmarket carrots at home, but were the second largest consumers of
processed carrots at 1.7 pounds (fresh-weight basis).

Part of this lower fresh-market consumption may be rooted in dietary traditions, while smaller incomes (due to a younger or less educated population) may also play a role. About one-third of all carrots consumed at home by Blacks were processed—the highest among the racial/ethnic groups. Black consumers largely avoid fresh-cut carrots, with 2005 per capita use estimated at 2.6 pounds—less than half the national average.

Fresh and Frozen Use Rises With Income
According to both the CSFII and Homescan data sets, income appears to be an important determinant of carrot consumption. Households were classified into three income brackets using the Federal poverty guidelines. The poverty guidelines were developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the implementation of Federal food programs. Some Federal food programs, such as the Food Stamp Program, have used 130 percent of the poverty level to determine eligibility. The Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program uses 185 percent. Whole (excluding baby) carrots are currently the
lone WIC-eligible fresh vegetable, with canned and frozen carrots also allowed. Thus, in this article, we use 185 percent of the poverty level as the top end of the lowincome category.

About 28 percent of all households fell into this category in the 1998-2003 Homescan data set and were designated as the lowincome group (table 5). About 34 percent of households had incomes exceeding 350 percent of the poverty level (designated as high-income households); and 38 percent of households had incomes falling between 185 and 350 percent of the poverty level (middle income group). The data suggest a pronounced positive correlation between income and both fresh and frozen carrot consumption, while there was a somewhat discernible negative relationship between income and canned carrot
use. For all carrots, consumers in the survey’s top income bracket reported the highest per capita disappearance for carrots consumed at home, while those in the lowest bracket reported the lowest consumption (table 8).

At-home consumption by “middle-income” consumers was 9.2 pounds per person. Although their per capita total fresh carrot consumption was 23 percent greater than the lowest income group, the “middle-income” responders reported eating proportionately fewer fresh-whole carrots than their respective population share. This was also the case with the lower income group.

Consumption of fresh carrots, mainly fresh-cut carrots, also increases with income. Consumers with higher income are more willing to pay for foods with improved quality and convenience, in this case bagged
and pre-cut carrot products as compared to whole carrots. Since they also take a greater percentage of their meals away from home, their exposure to carrots may be greater than the other two income classes, given that full-service restaurants accounted for about a tenth of fresh carrot sales. Within the total processed category, consumption was fairly constant over the income ranges. However, frozen carrot consumption rose with income, while canned carrot consumption was much less within the highest income group.

According to the Homescan data, the more educated the head of a household, the greater the consumption of carrots at home. (This is partly a reflection of household income since consumers with more education generally enjoy higher incomes.) As education level increases, per capita use of fresh carrots increases. However, this was only true for fresh-cut carrots, with the opposite result seen for fresh whole carrots. The increase in whole-carrot use by those with less education may also refl ect the impact of the WIC program, which tends to serve young, low-income consumers who may not
be fi nished with their formal education. Like fresh whole carrots, consumption of carrots in canned products declined as education levels increased.

Carrot Consumption Increases With Age
According to Homescan panel data, carrot consumption increases with the age of the household head, and this was apparent across both fresh and processed products (table 9). Total per capita carrot consumption was highest in households where the age of the household head was 65 or more. At 13.3 pounds per person, use in these households exceeded the national average by 40 percent. Meanwhile, consumers in younger households (headed by someone under age 40) ate 28 percent less than the national average.

For fresh-cut carrots, use was 28 percent below the national average of 6.1 pounds per person for these younger households. Adoption of fresh-cut was not a problem for long-time carrot consumers, as households headed by someone over age 65 exceeded national average fresh-cut consumption by 29 percent. For fresh whole carrots, consumption by these mature households was more than twice the national average.

Organic Share at 3 Percent
Organic carrots are continuing to make inroads into U.S. carrot markets. According to the 2003 Homescan panel data, organic carrots accounted for about 3 percent of the total at-home carrot market. Shares range from about 4 percent of the carrot market in the West to less than 2 percent in the South. About 12 percent of the carrots consumed at home by Asians were organic in 2003, including 21 percent of whole carrots and 10 percent of fresh-cut carrots purchased at retail. In contrast, for non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanics, organic market share for athome carrots was about 2 percent.

Conclusion: Carrots are one of the most popular vegetables in the United States, with annual per capita disappearance for all uses estimated at 11.6 pounds in 2005. Although much is known about the supply side of the U.S. carrot market, the demand side of the market is not well documented. Using data from USDA’s 1994-1996/98 CSFII survey and the Nielsen Homescan panel database for 2003, we show where and how much fresh and processed carrots are consumed and link this consumption to various economic, social, and demographic characteristics of consumers. Findings include:

Most carrots were purchased at retail stores and considered at-home foods. The standard full-service restaurant was strongest among the away-from-home markets.
Per capita consumption of carrots was greatest in the East and Central States, around the national average in the West, and weakest in the South.
Non-Hispanic Whites and Asians were the strongest consumers of carrots. Compared with other consumers, fresh-market carrots are less important in the diets of Hispanic consumers and sparsely used by non- Hispanic Blacks.
Per capita carrot consumption is positively correlated with income. Consumption of fresh-market and frozen carrots increases with income, while use of canned carrots is greatest for low- and middle-income consumers and lowest at upper income levels.
Per capita consumption of all carrots rises with education. Although fresh-cut per capita use was positively correlated with education level, fresh whole carrot use was negatively correlated with education
attained by the household head.
Carrot consumption increased with the average age of the household head. This was apparent across both fresh and processed products.
Organic carrots accounted for about 3 percent of the total at-home carrot market in 2003. The shares range from about 4 percent of the carrot market in the West to less than 2 percent in the South, with Asians consuming the largest share of their at-home carrots as organic.