Bananas Hold ‘Top-Of-The-Fruits’ Position

Fyffes has released recent European-wide consumer research that confirms the popularity of bananas as the consumer’s No. 1 favorite fruit.

The research, undertaken by NielsenIQ with more than 7,000 consumers across Europe, shows that bananas continue to be the public’s favorite fruit, with a massive 89% of consumers confirming that they have eaten bananas within the previous four weeks.

Second favorite at 75% are apples, followed in third place by oranges at 56%, and in fourth place, grapes at 44%.

We are thrilled that bananas are the favorite fruit of consumers with the highest household penetration across Europe. It is a testament to a fruit that is tasty, nutritious, convenient and sustainable. The research not only confirms banana popularity, but also gives us very valuable insights that guide us in the development of marketing strategies and market expansion plans. We’re delighted to share it with the sector and our retail partners.

Another measure in which bananas outranked all other fruits surveyed was under the heading of “Consumption Frequency.” In this, bananas returned the highest position, out-placing all others under every heading with an “at least” weekly (72%), monthly (95%) and quarterly (98%) consumption figure.

Viewed from a different perspective, this shows that three out of four consumers profess to eating bananas weekly (at least), with nine out of 10 doing so monthly.

Another feature revealed in the survey shows that a significant 59% of consumers admitted to “not remembering” the price they had paid for their most recent banana purchase, reducing to 27% who “roughly remembered” and 14% who recalled the “exact price” they had paid.

In all, 13 fruits were surveyed, ranked in descending order of consumer choice for consumption in the past six months as follows: banana (95%), apple (89%), oranges (74%), grapes (74%), berries (71%), pear (64%), melon (60%), lemon (60%), avocado (58%), pineapple (57%), peach (45%), mango (43%), and papaya (10%).

Of 13 fruits surveyed, the top five ranked in descending order of consumer choice for consumption in the past six months are: banana (95%), apple (89%), oranges (74%), grapes (74%), and berries (71%).

Asked why they consume bananas, survey respondents ranked “to satisfy my appetite” highest at 34%, followed by “to have a convenient and quick snack” at 27%, and “to support my healthy diet” in third place at 24%.

Other points of interest revealed in the survey show that, for the majority of consumers, bananas are a “planned in advance” purchase at 65% upward.

While a majority of those surveyed prefer to eat their banana when fully “ripe yellow” skinned, a significant number (22%) preferred bananas that are “more green than yellow” at the time of purchase.

Adriano Di Dia is chief marketing officer with Fyffes. Conducted in March 2025, this survey is part of Fyffes’ ongoing market research program. Recent marketing initiatives from Fyffes include their ongoing “Eat’em, Like’em, Love’em” marketing campaign, launched in Ireland in September 2025 and due to launch soon in the U.K. Trudi’s, the “banana brand that gives back” of the Fyffes group, launched in Norway in June 2025 with its new campaign “Little Voices” in out of home and social media, showcasing the impact of bananas in the communities where the fruit is grown.