With the advent of healthy and organic living, the inclusion of fruits and vegetables in our daily dietary regimen is becoming more and more popular. Regular intake of fruits is known to prevent numerous deficiencies and diseases in both the young and the old. That is why the demand for fresh market products has skyrocketed in recent years. More and more commercial entities are diversifying their businesses by incorporating the buying and selling of groceries as one of their franchises, with the aim of obtaining good returns. While this is a good business idea, one important consideration to take into account before making any investment would be to buy fruits, pros and cons.

Some of the advantages of such a company include:

a.) Availability throughout the year of a variety of fruits and vegetables to meet the demands of your customers.

Horticulture and other fruit-based agricultural projects are expanding rapidly to meet the growing demand for fresh produce, especially from urban dwellers. This ensures that the retailer dealing with the buying and selling of such produce has a constant supply of fresh stock in all seasons.

b.) A broad customer base, ranging from restaurant owners to regular housewives.

Fruits and vegetables have the unique advantage of finding use in both home and commercial settings. It is impossible to imagine a balanced diet without including fruits or vegetables in the recipe.

c.) little or no processing is needed to make the product viable on the market.

Since most fruits can be easily consumed, the retailer is less burdened with the possibility of having to contract or invest in processing services. Consequently, it becomes considerably easier and less demanding to set up a fruit retail purchasing and supply chain.

In either scenario, the winnings made are often balanced by a fair share of the odds. Therefore, the purchase of fruit products has the following disadvantages;

a.) Recurrence of high refrigeration costs.

Fruits and vegetables are very perishable. A retailer would have to invest in a good cooling system to prevent the product from spoiling before you buy it. In areas or countries where electric power shortage is a reality, it becomes expensive to run such a business without increasing the market price considerably.

b.) Improper handling during shipment may adversely affect the shelf life of the product.

Most of the entities that specialize in the marketing of fruits and other fresh products continually incur losses as a result of poor handling during transit, especially over long distances. For a retailer to avoid such restrictions, they would have to invest in a high-end, reliable transportation system that would significantly reduce their profits.

c.) Internal quality defects are sometimes difficult to detect.

Buying fruit can sometimes be a daunting task, especially when evaluating the quality levels of this product. Cases in which a retailer unknowingly purchases large volumes of spoiled produce from a supplier are not uncommon. This, in the long run, strains the seller-customer relationship and could contribute to the failure of a business in some extreme cases.