FRESH START: MORE KIWIS EATING THEIR 5+ A DAY AS MĀORI LEAD THE NATION

More New Zealanders are loading their plates with fresh fruit and vegetables, with new research showing a significant improvement in healthy eating habits over the past three years — and Māori recording particularly strong results.

The 2026 5+ A Day Awareness and Consumption Report, conducted by NielsenIQ, found 45 percent of New Zealand adults are now eating five or more servings of fresh fruit and vegetables each day, up from 40 percent in 2023.

Applied to the estimated adult population, the five-percentage-point increase equates to more than 200,000 additional New Zealanders reaching five or more servings each day.

The proportion consuming six or more servings has also increased, rising from 25 percent in 2023 to 30 percent in 2026, the highest level recorded since 2021.

MĀORI LEADING THE WAY

One of the standout findings is the result for Māori.

The research found 60 percent of Māori surveyed were eating five or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day, significantly higher than the national average of 45 percent.

That represents a positive hauora story at a time when much of the discussion around Māori health understandably focuses on inequities, barriers to healthcare and poorer outcomes.

The results suggest healthy eating messages and access to fresh produce are translating into positive behaviour for many whānau Māori.

Younger New Zealanders also produced an encouraging result.

Gen Z led every other generation for vegetable consumption, with 33 percent eating five or more servings of vegetables each day.

PRICE AND SEASONAL PRODUCE MATTER

The research also provides an important clue about what gets people eating more fresh food — affordability.

Seasonal, good-value produce emerged as the strongest motivator for increasing consumption.

Around 85 percent of respondents said affordable fruit being in season encouraged them to eat more, while 84 percent said the same about vegetables.

That ranked ahead of health goals and even growing fruit and vegetables at home.

For households facing high grocery and other living costs, the finding demonstrates how closely nutrition can be connected to affordability.

When fresh produce is plentiful, seasonal and represents good value, people appear more likely to put it in their shopping baskets and onto their plates.

SIMPLE MESSAGES CAN CHANGE HABITS

Dr Carolyn Lister, Team Leader – Food & Health Information, Food & Bioproducts Technology and a Trustee of the 5+ A Day Charitable Trust, says the results demonstrate the value of consistent messaging encouraging people to eat fresh and seasonal produce.

Awareness of the 5+ A Day programme remains strong, with four out of five New Zealanders familiar with the campaign.

Recipe inspiration and growing produce at home were also identified as important motivators, particularly when encouraging people to eat more vegetables.

BREAKFAST AND SNACKS THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY

Despite the improvement, the report identifies plenty of room for further progress.

Dinner remains the main occasion for both fruit and vegetable consumption, meaning breakfast and snack times offer some of the biggest opportunities to add additional servings during the day.

Knowledge about recommended daily intake also remains relatively low.

Only around a quarter of New Zealanders correctly identified the recommended daily fruit intake of two servings, while approximately one-third correctly identified the recommendation of five or more vegetable servings each day for adults.

That suggests improving knowledge around serving sizes and daily recommendations could be the next step in turning awareness into healthier everyday habits.

HEALTHIER WHĀNAU, ONE MEAL AT A TIME

The latest results provide an encouraging snapshot of changing food habits across Aotearoa.

Moving from 40 percent to 45 percent of adults reaching five or more servings may appear modest on paper, but across a population it potentially represents hundreds of thousands more people making healthier food choices.

The particularly strong result for Māori provides another reason to celebrate while also reinforcing the importance of making nutritious kai accessible and affordable.

The challenge now is keeping that momentum going.

Because when healthy, seasonal kai is affordable and accessible, the evidence suggests whānau are ready to put more of it on the table.

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