trends in consumer food habits and preferences · trends in consumer food habits and preferences...

Trends in Consumer FoodHabits and PreferencesFall 2007

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Title of Presentation | Client

The Hartman Group Approach

Wellness Activity Trends

Lifestyle and Food Trends

Where are we going?…

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The Hartman Group ApproachP A R T

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The Hartman Group, Inc.

A full-service strategic consultancy and market insights provider.

• Founded 1989

• Headquarters: Bellevue, WA

• Staff Composition: Anthropologists, sociologists and psychologists (15 full-timePhDs), visual analysts and linguists, MBAs, marketers and innovators

• Tinderbox: Dedicated to culture, innovation and trends

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The Hartman Group

Our Approach

• Consumer Centric

• Not about Psychology and Economics, but Sociology and Anthropology

• Understand Consumer Behavior through

LIVE · SHOP · USE

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Innovative Research Methods

Shop-and-talk tours

Social network parties

Language analysis

One-on-one interviews

Retail anthropology

Online observations

At-shelf intercepts

Day in a life tracking

In–home interviews

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Most everyone pursues someform of health and wellness, butthe extent of their interest andengagement varies considerably.

Physical, emotional, mental andspiritual aspects all contribute toa more holistic approach.

Consumers are willing to partnerwith brands and companies thathelp them achieve their wellnesspursuits.

World of Wellness

The World Model

Source: Wellness Lifestyle Insights: Evolution of Consumer Trends in Health & Wellness. The Hartman Group, Inc., 2005

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Wellness Activity TrendsP A R T

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7676Percent of consumers who are doing things tolower their health risks and prevent disease( increased from 52% in 2000)

Reducing Health Risks

General Trends in Wellness Activities


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6767Percent of consumers feel their diet is healthy(increased from 56% in 2000)

More Healthful Diets



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6262Percent of consumers claim to exerciseregularly (at least three times weekly)(increased from 40% in 2000)

Increase in Exercise



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3333Percent of consumers use alternative(or complementary) healthcare providers(increased from 17% in 2000)

More Use ofAlternative Health Care



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99Percent of consumers agreeing with the statement,“If organic produce isn’t available, I don’t buy any produce”(increased from 5% in 2000)

Growth in DemandFor Organics



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Lifestyle and Food TrendsP A R T

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*More households than ever feature dual wage earners whoboth work outside the home.

*Children’s participation in extracurricular activitiescontinues to rise.

*Number of marriages with partners located inseparate cities is at a record high.

*Average commute distances and times is alsoon the rise.

Result: Consumers feel they have lessand less time generally, but they arefinding time to do the “thingsimportant to them.”

Consumers Are Living More Complex, Harried Lives

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*Consumers increasingly find that moreactivities and responsibilities draw themaway from their homes giving them access tonew channels.

*The number of available, convenient foodoptions within – and outside of – grocery isincreasing rapidly.

*Shopping daily is actually more convenientand better suited to active lifestyles.

Result: Consumers in search of foodare (a) less constrained whenshopping, (b) increasingly likely toshop outside of grocery and (c) aremore inclined to “shop fresh.”

Consumers Will Continue to Make More Trips to aWider Variety of Channels in Search of Food

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Balance

Balance allows for indulgences,instead of more restrictivebehaviors.

Balance helps us reconcile ourhealthy ideals with the everydayrealities of our lives.

“I’ll have to go for a run later towork off this Whopper and friesI’m having for lunch.”

We predict consumer interestand participation in indulgentproducts will continue unabated.

Implications | Opportunities

It is not necessary to downplay orotherwise compromise a product’sindulgence qualities for the sake ofbeing or appearing more healthy.

The foodie/gourmet category isperceived by consumers to have aunique combination of health andindulgence attributes and willcontinue to grow in importance.

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Balance Language Map

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Consumers have a declining reliance on externalsources of authority

*Consumers have littlerespect for those companiesspeaking at them, theyrespect those who speak withthem.

*Consumers are relyingprimarily on their socialnetworks (friends, family andcolleagues) for information.

*To speak with consumers,you need to use theirlanguage.


Promote words and phrases that telland sell the product story.

Speak to them like a peer

Give consumers an opportunity tospeak to one another.

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Consumers want more “Simplicity” in their lives

*Simplicity is an antidote to theperceived complexity and stressof modern life.

*Consumers are increasinglyimpatient with, and mistrustfulof, complex product offerings.

*They rely on simple, symboliclogic to associate products totheir functionality or inherentbenefits.


Promote whole and unprocessedingredients, short ingredient listsand ingredients they can understand.

Stay positive and straight-forwardwith your H&W messaging.

Create “rituals” around yourproducts that help ground theconsumer and harkens back to asimpler time. The ritual is a way tomark time and keep “sane” in achaotic environment.

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“Mobility” will continue to be demanded byconsumers for all eating occasions

*More and more consumers areturning to snacks, small meals,beverages and portable foods tosatisfy their need to combinemeals with other activities thatmake it awkward to sit down to aconventional meal.

*A reality of modern life is thatconsumers have increasinglyrelinquished the respite ofmealtime to satisfy time pressuresfrom work, household chores andleisure pastimes.


“Companion” products that caneasily travel with the consumer whiletraveling, exercising, or playing aredesired.

Mobile products that can bestashed in a briefcase or purse can“shield” consumers from unhealthyeating.

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Increasingly, consumers will rely on “Authenticity”to gauge the value of products and experiences

*Authenticity allows consumers tonaturalize otherwise arbitrarydistinctions between comparableproducts and experiences. It is asense that the distinction in questionis justified because it represents the"the natural way, the way things aresupposed to be done."

*There is also significant – andalways intensifying – cynicism withregard to conventional marketingtactics.

*Consumers are reappropriatingelements from the past that they areinterpreting and integrating intotoday’s world.


Consumers will increasingly rely onauthenticity claims to differentiatebetween comparable products.

Notions of place, people andcommunity will be critical toestablishing authenticity claims.

Credible authenticity claims willbe able to justify substantial pricepremiums.

Position products with rich narrativesthat establish an emotional bondwith the consumer that can surpassconventional product benefits.

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Authenticity Language Map

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Elements of “Authentic Retail”

Authenticity at retail will:• Differentiate the store

• Make products more relevant to consumers

• Command higher prices due to no immediatecomparisons

Authenticity at retail is:• Multi-product oriented

• Knowledge oriented

• About “theatre” events

• Focused on surprise and delight

• Centered on human interaction

• Creating community

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Consumers will work to reclaim “Control”of their diets and daily food intake

*At nearly every turn, consumersfeel challenged to maintaincontrol of their lives.

*The when, where and how ofeating seems increasingly out ofcontrol

*Parents are fighting for controlover the habits of their child in aworld where such control isincreasingly perceived to be up fornegotiation

*The perceived “obesity epidemic”plays into these fears of a loss ofcontrol.


Demand for customized portion controlwill increase among adults and parentswith children.

Parents will demand a greater say inwhat, when and how much their childreneat outside the home.

Companies that providenutritionally superiorchoices for childrencan become amuch-neededpartner forparents

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The traditional household meal occasionis fragmenting

Individualized food preferences haveforced grocery shoppers to developcomplex shopping lists to satisfydivergent food preferences within theirhouseholds.

The most popular of these are:

1. Illness or symptom-based orientationto food (e.g., food allergy, ingredientintolerance),

2. Preventive health orientations to food(e.g., anti-cancer, anti-additive) and

3. Moralistic orientations to food(e.g.,vegetarianism,environmentalism).


There is now the need to market tocommunities of food orientation ratherthan families.

Offer customizable food products that thefamily can enjoy together while having theirindividual needs met.

i.e. Kentucky Fried Chicken Mix and matchbucket

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Consumers are seeking all things “Fresh”

“Fresh” implies the gradualreplacement of traditional CPGproducts with “fresh” counter-parts,category by category.

Freshness is less an objective statethan a perception-based framingdevice.

Busy, fragmented schedules mean anincrease in “just in time” shoppingtrips which focus on fresh solutions.


Shelf stable categories are impacteddifferently, with crackers and cerealsholding their own while breads and juicesare being transformed

Maximize freshness cues including:clear packaging, chilled positioning,perimeter placement,and expiration dateswhere possibleand logical.

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Consumers are Focusing on Whole Grains MoreThan Ever Before in Their Quest to Eat Healthier

Seeking• Ingredients and categories

» Whole grains» Fruit» Vegetables» Nuts» Fish» Water

• Attributes» High fiber» High protein» “Good fats” (Omegas)» Fresh» Simple» Short ingredient lists» Natural and organic» “Brown foods”

Monitoring and/or avoiding• Ingredients

» Sugar» High fructose corn syrup» Simple carbohydrates» Salt» Trans fats» Artificial flavors and colors

• Attributes» High calorie» Refined» Processed» “White foods”

Whole grains areconsistently in thetop few ingredientsconsumers say theyare seeking today.

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Whole Grain Awareness is Spreading Througha Number of Sources

Consumers are learning about whole grains through a variety of sources (rankedin order of importance)

Primary sources

• Oprah

• Dr. Oz (Credited as presenting whole grains and fiber in “simple” and “actionable”ways)

• Moms (particularly “healthy” and “hippie” moms)

Secondary sources

• Doctors (through condition diagnosis such as diabetes or high blood pressure)

• Food Network

• Specialty retailers (store papers and flyers, classes, employees)

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Whole Grains are a Relatively New Concept

Interest in whole grains is fundamentally related to a general shift in food culturefrom “white food” to “brown food”

• White = “refined,” “processed,” “stripped,” “void of nutrients,” likely to be surrounded byother “undesirable” ingredients such as sugar, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup

• “White” foods do not communicate or signal whole grains

» Brands that have tried to maintain their “white” appeal are looked upon skeptically

“Sara Lee has some ‘whole grain’ bread that’s white…how can that be? Seems like a hoax.”

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Increasingly, consumers are trying to avoid sugar

Rightly or wrongly, consumers link sugarto obesity, diabetes, ADHD and otherserious conditions.

Not even fruit is safe from scrutiny.

Consumers are vocal – and more pro-active than they used to be – aboutremoving sugar from much of their diets.

The concern over sugar consumptionnow trumps the concern over fatconsumption.


Sugar is becoming the next“demonized” ingredient that consumerswill seek to mitigate.

Demand for less refined sugarswill increase gradually.

As consumers become more involved inwellness, their concerns abut sugar aresurpassed by concerns about artificialsweeteners and their potential healthimplications.

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Protein will grow in importance as a key macronutrient

Experts are touting protein’simportance to proper nutrition.

Consumers equate protein withenergy, weight loss and weightmanagement.

Consumers need at least one thingthey can feel good about eatingwithout scrutiny.

Consumers are beginning todifferentiate between proteinsources (soy, whey, animal, etc.)


Protein ties back to satiety solutions

Protein is a symbol for sustained energyin consumers’ minds.

We believe there is significant marketopportunity in development of proteinsources beyond traditional meat andsoy products.

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1. Don’t try to educate the consumer, but have information available and betransparent about your “story”

2. Target a diversity of consumers

3. Understand which product categories are most appealing to consumers

4. Ensure that the language you are using to speak to consumers isappropriate

5. Establish retailer/manufacturer partnerships to create authenticity,community and experience

6. Keep packaging and ingredient lists simple.

Marketing Implications for Health and Wellness

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1621 114th Avenue SE | Suite 105Bellevue, WA 98004tel. (425) 452-0818fax. (425) 452-9092www.hartman-group.com

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