New figures released by IRI show a steep rise in the purchase of green vegetables, such as avocados and spinach, and soft fruits in the UK.

Sales of avocados rose by 31% last year, worth an extra £34 million to UK supermarkets over the year before, while demand for spinach rose by 21% and greens by 12%. As the craze for blending and juicing continues to grip the country, soft fruit sales also increased by 12%, topping £1 billion in sales last year and adding an extra £115 million to the economy over the year before.

However, while the health boom benefits fresh fruit and green vegetables, other categories are losing ground, including fizzy drinks, fruit juices and dilute to taste products. On the other hand, value sales of bottled waters are increasing, with the category seeing nearly a 10% increase last year to £670 million. Flavoured and unflavoured sparkling and still waters all saw increases over the past year.

Martin Wood, head of strategic insight – retail solutions and innovation at IRI, explains, "Its clear that certain categories are receiving a boost from shoppers changing attitudes towards free-from, natural products and food authenticity, and an increased awareness of the health benefits of certain foods and ingredients. Typically, we expect these figures at the start of the year when people adopt more healthy eating habits, but its interesting that our data shows growth trends across the whole year.

"At a time when obesity rates are at their highest in the UK, its encouraging to see this."