Nuts should move to young generation

“Nuts are probably the best kept secret in America, which is not a good thing,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, a popular spokesman on health issues in the United States, during in his 30- minute keynote speech on the first day of the 38th World Nut and Dried Fruit Congress, held in Boca Raton, Florida May 23-25

Like nearly all food commodities these days, the various sectors of the global nut and dried fruit industries are focusing on the health benefits of its products as the primary marketing message, according to executives on most round table panels during the annual Congress held this year in Boca Raton, Florida,

on May 23 to 25.Some sectors are farther ahead in the game than others, however.

“People believe almonds are nutritious; they’re healthy,” said Mark Jansen, president and CEO of Blue Diamond Growers of Sacramento, California, the leader of the almonds panel. “Our job is not to convince you of the health of almonds. People want to know where their food comes from.” Jansen spoke from the summit of the nut world as almonds were the most consumed tree nut in high-income global economies, mainly the US and Europe, with a 39% share in 2017, followed by cashews (17%) and walnuts 14%), according to INC’s 2018-19 Statistical Yearbook.

Nuts fail to promote happiness

In middle income economies, walnuts led the consumption rankings with a 29% world share in 2017 followed by pistachios (22%) and almonds and cashews (20% each).

China, India and Turkey were the leading consuming countries in the category.

Executives for other commodities acknowledged they had some catching up to do. “I think we’re failing on marketing our product,” said Jose Tomas Quezada of Pacific Nut in Chile during the panel on dried cranberries, grapes (raisins, sultanas and currants) and prunes. “Maybe we’re focusing on the wrong thing.”

Quezada noted dried fruit carries a negative perception because of its sugar content, but then so does Coca Cola, “a dark product full of sugar.” But Coke is a marketing success because it “promotes happiness.”

The organizers could not have picked a better spokesman to deliver that health message than Oz, host of a popular US television program, “The Dr. Oz Show,” which focuses on health and wellness issues. “What you’re doing is vital for the health of the world,” Oz said. “Shame on all of us if we don’t make a really big deal of what we do.”

Oz countered some common misconceptions about nut consumption, such as its contribution to weight gain. Studies show the opposite because eating nuts more quickly leads to satiety, which prevents overeating. Other studies have shown nuts are beneficial to the healthy bacteria in the human digestive tract, he said.

“Nuts feed the healthy bacteria. Within a few weeks of eating junk food, you kill off the good bacteria,” Oz said. “You walk into the nuts section of a grocery store, you walk into a pharmacy. That’s how important they are.” Oz’s speech appeared to energize many of the roughly 1,000 participants at the Boca Raton Congress. Many industry representatives

mentioned his remarks during the subsequent round tables.

California rated as “queen of the almond world”

As Jansen noted, almonds continue to be one of the best performing nut sectors. World almond production increased to nearly 1.3 million t in 2018-19, a 2% increase from the previous season and 20% higher than the 10-year average from the previous 10 seasons. Some 80% of production came from the US, primarily California, followed by Australia at 6% and Spain at 5%.

Despite the good numbers over the past, growing conditions have been challenging, Jansen said. The past decade included a frost one year, five years of drought and three years of heavy rains. “The conditions have never been perfect,” Jansen said. “We haven’t seen the full potential of the California crop.”

California exported an average 70% of its almond crop during the five years to 2017 according to statistics. Spain continued to be the leading export destination for almond exports with 111,288 t in 2017, up 53,070 t over 10 years but India is catching up with 110,662 t in 2017, up 73,685 t over the decade. “India is the number one world destination for almonds, and it’s growing every year,” the CEO of Blue Diamond said. Its growing popularity stems from India’s growing economy, up 8% in GDP last year, along with increasing awareness of almonds’ health benefits, said Raju Bhatia, founder and managing partner of California Agri Nuts Corp. in India, the country’s largest nuts importer.

California Walnut Commission has led the way on research

Walnuts are also a leading nut commodity, accounting for 880,820 t

of production in 2018-19. That’s down slightly from the previous season but represents a 37% increase from the average over the previous 10 years. Over the past five seasons, China accounted for 40% of world walnut production followed by 32% in the US, primarily California; and 6% from Chile. The California Walnut Commission has led the way on scientific research, spending US$17 m in ten countries over 25 years, to support a health message in its marketing program, said Maria Kraus, its European Union representative based in Bonn, Germany.

Results include evidence for walnuts as a good source of fiber and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Kraus and other nut industry representatives noted Millennials and younger generations are particularly receptive to the health message. “They’re very demanding when they look at food,” she said during the walnut panel.

Yet Gary Ford, a board member at Diamond Foods in California, a leading global producer and processor of walnuts and pecans, acknowledged US walnut consumers tend to

skew to older generations with the current average age of 61 years.

Walnuts do well as a baking and cooking ingredient, he said, but the industry needs to increase its appeal as a snack food, which would be more attractive to the younger generations. Snacking “is the number one occasion for tree nuts,” Ford said. “With walnuts, we lag behind that.” Walnut sales in the US and Europe are heaviest in the October to December period because of holiday baking, Ford and Kraus stated. Promoting walnuts as a snack item would increase consumption for the rest of the year.

“We need to move to a young population,” said Gunjan Jain, managing director of VKC Nuts in India at the walnuts round table. “As more consumers become aware of the health benefits,