General Trends

Americans Still in Savings Mode: Harris Poll -- General
(Progressive Grocer)

A Progressive Grocer article states that despite clear signs that the economy is improving, U.S. consumers are still exercising caution with regard to small purchases. This is according to a study conducted by The Harris Poll, during which 2,576 adults were surveyed online between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25.

Key findings from the poll include:

• Nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (63 percent) said they have bought more generic brands in the past six months to save money, while another 12 percent said they have considered doing so.
  
• To keep expenses down, nearly half (45 percent) of respondents said they’re bringing their lunch to work instead of purchasing it.
  
• One-third of Americans (34 percent) have switched to refillable water bottles instead of buying bottles of water.
  
• Among the various generations represented in the poll, Gen Xers (those aged 34 to 45) are more likely to bring their own lunch to work.

Harris Interactive weighted figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

STUDY: PEOPLE WILLINGLY SPEND MORE FOR GREEN
(Marketing Daily)

According to a Marketing Daily article, a Burst Media study found that consumers are willing to pay more for a variety of products that are environmentally friendly and sustainable -- better known as "green."

Study findings include:

• 90% of respondents have incorporated some level of greenness into their daily lives.
  
• 8.8% are completely green, while most are aspirationally green.
  
• Respondents cite the Internet as the best source of information on green products and practices.
  
• People are willing to pay a premium for products they know are made out of green or environmentally friendly, organic materials.
  
• More than one-third (39.4%) of respondents turn to the Web for information on green products and practices, followed by TV (18.4%), friends and family (9.2%), newspapers (7.1%), magazines (6.5%) and books (4.6%).
  
• Men search for information on alternative energy and green technologies.
  
• Women look for healthy recipes, recycling, simple living, and natural remedies.
  
• More than half (56.6%) of all respondents believe that to some extent, advertising claims that promote a product as environmentally friendly. However 25% do not believe the claims -- or find them confusing or misleading -- and only 10% say they never believe green claims made in an advertisement.
  
• Two-thirds (67.5%) of aspirationally green respondents believe green claims in advertising, compared to 58.2% of "completely green" respondents, and 32.3% of respondents who are not green at all.
  
• Women in all key age segments are more likely than men to purchase a product that is advertised as environmentally friendly. However, men still lead women in being completely green -- 12.1% versus 5.3%, respectively.

The study reveals a distinct difference in the motivation to go green between those who are aspirational and those self-identified as 100% green. While aspirational greens clearly point to working for a better environment (61.3%) as the reason for incorporating green behaviors into their daily lives, only 38.1% of 100% greens point to this cause. Among respondents who are completely green, reasons include "to live a better quality of life" (36.6%), good for the community (35.4%), desire to make a difference (32.9%), and to set an example for others to follow (31.5%). Among this segment, being green identifies a lifestyle rather than personal activity.

CONSUMERS DEFECT FROM ICONIC BRANDS
(Adweek)

According to an article in Adweek, loyalty deteriorates further in tough times. Consumers are defecting from iconic CPG brands as they try to save money by purchasing less-expensive store and private-label brands.

While this trend is not new, it has become more pervasive since the economic downturn started in December 2007, per eMarketer. In fact, 59 percent of U.S. consumers reported having switched to store brand food and household products over the past six months, according to a May 2009 study by ICOM.
 
A study by the CMO Council and Pointer Media Network found that among 12 leading CPG brands, only three experienced increases in the number of loyal consumers between the first half of 2007 and the first half of 2008. The other nine experienced overall declines ranging from 2 percent to 9 percent. The study analyzed purchasing patterns of 34 million U.S. shoppers for two years across 685 leading CPG brands and 24,000 retail stores.

In today's recession, even lifelong devotees may opt for lower-priced store brands. The article states that offering coupons and samples does not necessarily seal the deal. CPG marketers need to get more creative, and fast. They must find new ways to reward loyalists while also luring prospects to their brands.

SURVEY: FEWER THAN 10% OF CONSUMERS DISLIKE GROCERY SHOPPING
(DDI Magazine)

According to a DDI Magazine article, in today’s economy, U.S. consumers continue to feed on a back-to-basics and a “more meals at home” mentality. With consumers across all incomes looking for grocery deals, how are they shopping?

Key findings from Nielsen’s most recent shopping survey and behavior-tracking insights:

• Only 9 percent of the primary shoppers in U.S. households dislike or hate shopping; 38 percent “get in and get out”.
  
  
• More than half (53 percent) of U.S. consumers tell Nielsen they really enjoy or like grocery shopping. Eighteen percent of the consumers in this category regularly browse the entire store when shopping.
  
  
• Approximately 30 percent of grocery items are purchased on deal, with deal rates up nearly 11 percent for high-income households, nearly 10 percent for middle-income households and 7 percent for low-income households.
  
  
• Thirty-eight percent of consumers report that grocery shopping is a chore, but not a difficult one. These consumers know which parts of the store have the items they want.
  
  
• Planning is key, with a large percentage of U.S. households using shopping lists (58 percent), store circulars (47 percent) or coupons (37 percent), and comparing prices (50 percent) on most grocery store trips.

Only 9 percent of consumers purchase from end-aisle displays on most grocery trips, and three-quarters of consumers never ask for assistance in the meat or produce department, requiring retailers to get their product assortment right.

MORE SHOPPERS SEARCH FOR COUPONS ONLINE
(USA Today)

According to a USA Today article, the unsteady economy is contributing to a rush by millions of online shoppers to a decidedly low-tech business: coupons. The number of people scouring the Internet in search of coupons that they can print and present to retailers, or codes that provide them with discounts on retail sites such as Amazon.com, is up sharply.

The article states that leading coupon websites reported record traffic on Cyber Monday. RetailMeNot had 1.1 million visitors, up 57% from a year ago. CouponCabin was visited 400,000 times, up 65% from a year ago. And BradsDeals.com said traffic was up 174%, to 16,000 visitors per hour.

What’s driving coupon use is not surprising: 42% of consumers intend to spend less online this Christmas than they did in 2008, says Nielsen analyst Maya Swedowsky, who surveys shopper attitudes.

“Any merchant without an aggressive coupon strategy is at a clear disadvantage,” says Loren Bendele, CEO of Savings.com, which works with more than 4,000 major retailers, including Apple, Gap and Home Depot. Coupon-related purchases at his site have doubled to $136 million this year vs. the same period in 2008. As a matter of fact, one-third of all U.S. Internet users in October visited a deal-oriented site such as RetailMeNot and CoolSavings.com.

The article suggests it’s not just the recession driving the growth of online coupons. Internet use continues to grow. Smartphones in particular are booming and adding a high-tech dimension to the phenomenon. Shoppers can use their phone cameras to scan a product’s bar code and instantly find and retrieve a coupon to lower the price.

THE NEW PRAGMATIC CONSUMER: GREEN = PRACTICAL
(Marketing Daily)

Marketers have heard a lot in the last year about the ways green consumers have scaled back to accommodate tough economic times, but a new study suggests it would be a mistake to interpret reduced sales as reduced interest, says Marketing Daily.

According to research from GfK Roper Consulting, there's been little change in consumers’ commitment to the environment -- just a big shift in how they approach it, replacing idealism with hard-boiled pragmatism.

“Consumer commitment to green living is very stable,” says Tim Kenyon, senior analyst for GfK's consumer trends division. “But if products are too expensive, they will find other ways to express that commitment. They may buy fewer green products, but they’ll do things like cut their energy costs or reduce consumption.” The study finds 60% of people now believe green products are too costly, a six point increase from 2006.

According to the article, through the recession consumers have moved from environmental philanthropy to a more practical approach with green purchases likely to be driven by the desire to save money, be healthier, or get more value. They’re also measuring the worth of their time differently, with 28% saying they are “too busy” to do what it takes to be green.

For marketers, that means it’s essential to focus on green innovations that consumers will regard as both easy and affordable. And although shoppers are expressing a greater interest in environmental purchases, consumers are more conscious of picking and choosing, and beginning to make trade-offs.

WHY ‘MILLENNIALS’ ARE IMPULSE SHOPPERS
(Brandweek)

According to a Brandweek article, women ages 20 to 30 represent a $54 billion marketing opportunity for packaged goods companies, but their needs and values are vastly different from the generation before them, a new report from Information Resources found.

“Winning With Millennial Women Shoppers” outlines this growing consumer demographic’s key behaviors. Compared to the preceding generation, women born between 1979 and 1989 tend to shop less, buy more during each trip, and frequent supercenters and Wal-Mart more. The economy has also forced these shoppers to cut back on indulgent food categories like frozen poultry, chewing gum, salty snacks and frozen pizza, the report said.

The article provided these additional findings about Millennial women:

• Their acceptance of private label is much higher. Seventy percent perceive store brands to be of excellent quality, IRI said
• They are seeking retailers that can provide better-for-you and healthy options, though the health factor becomes less important when purchasing beverages
• Compared to their elders, they tend to use less coupons and circulars
• They are also more likely to shop without a budget and make impulse grocery purchases
• Due to their quick purchasing decisions, these women are also less likely to stock up while deals and bargains last
• Marketers have better luck reaching these women via the right in-store messaging and packaging size
• They value characteristics, such as a store’s “value proposition, location, user-friendly layout and variety” when it comes to deciding where they’ll shop
• Features such as checkout counters and loyalty shopping cards are less important, as are the location and space devoted to high-traffic departments such as fresh meat and produce

MOMS SPEND WISELY
(Progressive Grocer)

The weak economy could use a little mothering as it struggles to recover. But new reports on the consumer behavior of American mothers suggest marketers shouldn’t count on free-and-easy spending by moms. According to Progressive Grocer, polling finds mothers are making careful spending a part of their long-term routine as they shun inessential purchases.

In a recent report by Allen & Gerritsen, 45 percent of mothers surveyed said they’ve completely eliminated anything they don’t feel is absolutely necessary from their lives, while another 29 percent have been findings ways to downgrade and cut back on their spending in response to the current economic climate.

Meanwhile, another indication of mothers’ focus on saving money comes from a new Prospectiv survey of women: Three-quarters of surveyed mothers said they redeem the discounts, coupons and offers found or received online, either at least once a month (40 percent) or at least once a week (35 percent).

The article indicates that while finding a wide-ranging commitment to saving money, the report detects some generational differences. The polling’s Gen Y mothers (age 18-30) were the most reluctant to entirely give up any of the nonessential comforts and activities they enjoy. Thirty-seven percent of the Gen Yers claimed to be completely eliminating outlays on non-necessities, vs. 45 percent of Gen Xers (age 31-44) and 54 percent of baby-boomer mothers (age 45-64). Likewise, 20 percent of the Gen Yers said they’d returned to their pre-recession spending habits, vs. 18 percent of the Gen Xers and 13 percent of the boomers.

In regards to the recession and moms, the article also notes the following:

• Mothers have learned how to save.
• They have mastered the techniques of downloading coupons, finding discounts, and watching for sales.
• Mothers will still want to get good value for their money even in a good economy.
• Saving money has become a source of positive satisfaction for mothers, and not merely a fiscal necessity. Seventy percent of mothers put cable-TV programming in the category of necessity.
• Sixty-three percent consider going out to restaurants and bars a necessity
• Sixty-three percent consider buying new clothes or accessories a necessity.
• Fifty-one percent classified movie rentals among modern-day life’s essentials.
  Gen Y mothers were the most likely to be buying new communications technology, with 43 percent viewing this as necessary spending, vs. 35 percent of mothers overall.
• Gen X mothers reported an above-average propensity to go to the movie theater (44 percent, vs. 38 percent of mothers in general).
• Boomer mothers were the most likely to be hanging on to magazine and newspaper subscriptions (43 percent, vs. 39 percent of mothers overall).
• Boomer mothers were the least likely to regard entertainment technology as a necessary expenditure, with 29 percent viewing it in that light, vs. 31 percent of Gen X and 36 percent of Gen Y mothers.

CHILDREN KNOW HEALTHY FOODS
(Prepared Foods)

A recent Prepared Foods article states that despite not always eating what is good for them, kids know healthy foods from those that are not. A new study by foodservice consultant Technomic and kid-focused brand marketing agency C3 found that nearly nine out of 10 kids surveyed say that fresh vegetables and fresh whole fruits are healthy. Other foods named healthy by kids included salad (78%), steamed vegetables (76%) and eggs (72%). At least half said that fish, cheese, chicken and peanut butter are healthy as well.

SHOPPERS RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO STORE MEDIA
(Brandweek.com)

The way consumers respond to in-store promotional messages and media is changing, with traditional appeals losing some potency, according to the results of a new poll that surveyed 999 shoppers shortly after completing a shopping trip. The poll results were recently published on brandweek.com.

In the survey, more shoppers (32 %) rated in-store signage as "very effective" than they did out-of-store advertising, including television ads, billboards and other media (27 %). Compared to older shoppers, though, Generation Y consumers (born between 1982 and 2003) were more likely to regard both indoor and outdoor advertising as "very effective."

While the recession has two-thirds of consumers making shopping lists before they go to the store, shoppers are making brand decisions 60 percent of the time after entering the store. More shoppers (70 %) say they are engaged by end-of-aisle signage than by merchandising displays (62 %), department signage (58 %), shelf strips (55 %) or shelf blades (50 %).

The article suggests that how well different types of messages (product information, price discounts, etc.) are received depends on the age and gender of the customer. While nearly half of the consumers said they want product-comparison information, Generation X (born between 1961 and 1981) and Gen Y place more importance on that in-store trigger. Product quality information is more important to men than women -- and more important to middle-income earners -- than folks in other income brackets.

No surprise, price tops the list of important factors when making a purchase decision: 70 % of the consumers said price reduction influenced a planned purchase; 47 % said they were influenced by an everyday-low-price message.

STUDY: BEING GREEN MORE VALUABLE THAN PRICE
(Progressive Grocer)

According to a recent national survey by Opinion Research Corp. (ORC), a product’s “energy footprint” influences 77 percent of consumers’ purchasing decisions, with 76 percent willing to pay more at the register for environmentally friendly products.

'Green' appeal carries over to the workplace, where the majority of U.S. employees believe organizations should take action to lead eco-friendly initiatives. Most of these green-minded workers would also be willing to support their organization’s sustainable initiatives at the cost of a smaller paycheck.

"The study's findings seem to debunk a common perception that people will go green as long as it doesn’t cost them," said Aaron Franklin, project director at ORC Guideline, which is part of the global firm Opinion Research Corp., in a statement.

MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT
(Supermarket News)

In a recent article, Supermarket News stated most Americans are either trying to lose (53%) or maintain their weight (25%), by changing the amount of food they eat (71%); changing the types of foods they eat (65%); engaging in physical activity (62%); changing how often they eat (44%); and counting calories (19%). This is according to the “2009 Food & Health Survey, Consumer Attitudes toward Food, Nutrition & Health, which was conducted earlier this year by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation.

What hurdles do respondents have to overcome to stay on track?
Didn’t see results quickly
Lack of will power
Lack of time
Confusion about the relationship between calories and weight gain

The findings indicate educational opportunities for supermarkets. "Consumers crave consistency and they really want us to talk in positive terms about what they should be eating, instead of what they shouldn’t eat," said Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, director of health and nutrition for IFIC.

FINANCIAL INSIGHTS: THE RETURN OF THE CONSUMER
(Progressive Grocer)

According to Progressive Grocer, the consumer is poised for an unexpected comeback. Despite declining employment, the household sector is better positioned to increase spending now than at any time in the past two years. The ultimate driver of consumer spending is household cash flow. While a great deal of emphasis is placed on employment, there are several other critically important sources of household cash flow that are often what kick-starts a consumer recovery:

Purchasing Power
As prices continue to fall across the board (energy, gas, meat, fruits, vegetables, dairy), an increase in consumer purchasing power is the result. And every penny decline in the price of gas gives consumers an additional $1 billion in purchasing power.

Falling Home Costs
Home prices have been falling for two years. The decline brings about lower rent and mortgage payments. And the boom in home mortgage refinancing is cutting mortgage payments by nearly 20 percent.

Tax Refunds
For many households, tax withholding is a form of savings. Tax refunds by the middle of April totaled $225 billion, up 15.8 percent from a year ago, giving households an extra cash-flow boost.

Tax Cuts
A critical element of this year's $787 billion American Recovery and Reconstruction Bill was tax cuts for households that went into effect April 1.

Savings
Households have aggressively increased their level of savings over the past year. The consumer savings rate has gone from essentially nothing to 4.5 percent. If consumers cut back on savings just 1 percent to 3.5 percent, another $100 billion would be added to consumer spending.

FOOD DOESN’T HAVE TO TAKE UP A HUGE CHUNK OF YOUR BUDGET
(Advertising Age)

Home-cooked meals and grocery coupon clipping have become the cost-cutting ways of the recession. Still, many of us continue to spend money we don’t need to at the store.

According to article, there are ways to make food shopping a less expensive, but still healthy, trip every time. It just takes a little planning ahead, making a list, and avoiding common missteps in the grocery aisles.

Here are a few tips USA Today offers consumers:

Produce

• Lean toward whole fruits and veggies instead of fruit bowls and bagged greens
• Opt for citrus in the winter, plums and peaches in the summer, and apples in the fall
• Don’t be wowed by bulk packaging - only buy as much as you can eat before it goes bad
• Choose canned or frozen fruits and veggies too for longer shelf life

Meats/Proteins

• Buy whole chickens rather than pre-cut, pricier ones and learn how to properly cut one using tips found online
• Buy less-expensive cuts of meat which can be tasty if prepared right
• Don’t forget the beans – they provide much of the protein of meats and chicken at a lower cost

Dairy

• Buy cheese in block form and slice or shred your own

Coupons

• Find an abundance online at multiple Web sites

Tricky Promotions

• Beware of product placements that give the appearance of being on sale – look for signage that verifies sale pricing

Homegrown Foods

• Though more people report they are gardening this year, the fact is it is a time-consuming and often costly task, especially when maintaining a vegetable garden that could sustain a family.

IN AISLE 3, PEOPLE SIZE UP BRANDS IN 2.3
(mediapost.com)

An April 3 Marketing Daily article on MediaPost reports most Americans spend about 2.3 seconds on in-store brand decisions and that they are more easily influenced than one might think.

Atlanta-based retail consulting company, Miller Zell, recently tracked the buying triggers of 1,000 shoppers. It seems that even though it appears shoppers are careful in today’s economy (making lists and doing research), they are still doing a lot of impulse buying.

Some key findings:

• Just over 90% of shoppers make unplanned purchases
• 51% of those purchases take place right in the aisle
• 55% of shoppers are making shopping lists prior to the shopping trip
• Generation Y is more susceptible to advertising, both in-store and outside of the store
• Gen Y shoppers are more likely to make purchases from end caps
• Shoppers believe ads designed to reach them in the store work better than outside of the store
• Sale prices motivate the shopper more than everyday low price positioning
• 93% of Baby Boomers say they prefer product messages rather than price-point messages while shopping

WHY CHILDREN CHOOSE THE FOODS THEY DO
Prepared Foods

Many factors affect children’s food choices, from biological and psychological factors to sensory and social factors. When using children in sensory and consumer-based tests, it is important to understand their limitations when designing the experiments, selecting the methods of research and analyzing data.

A review published by Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA), titled “Issues in Children’s Food Choices: Methods for Sensory and Consumer Research - Review No. 53” highlighted many research methods that have been used with children to investigate factors that influence their preferences and eating habits. As such, research conducted indicates that improving children’s knowledge about food does not necessarily mean they will adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Children are a major market for the food industry and are also the forerunners of potentially loyal adult market. Many factors have been identified that affect children’s food choices. As well as biological and psychological factors, choice is affected by the following:

1. Sensory characteristics
   1. taste
   2. appearance
   3. texture
   4. preference
2. Non-sensory factors
   1. hunger
   2. familiarity
   3. family habits
   4. feeding practices
   5. peer pressure
   6. schools and teachers
   7. media and advertising
   8. product cost and availability.

Healthy Growth
(Supermarket News)

According to Supermarket News, a study found a strong interest among consumers in buying and eating healthy foods offers significant opportunities for the food industry to create new products to meet that demand.

Consumers indicate they are willing to pay a premium for healthy foods. The Nutrition Business Journal consumer research study recommended that the industry market such products as a way for consumers to manage their health conditions: offer more private-label and prepared-food solutions in the healthy foods category, and make more locally grown and natural products available at the supermarket.

More than half of consumers are buying grocery items to address one or more specific health problems or concerns. The following is additional information from the study:

Favored Attributes

Source: Nutrition Business Journal consumer research study

Favored Attributes

Source: Nutrition Business Journal consumer research study

Favored Attributes

*Other includes sodium aluminum phosphate; gelatin, malitol; and bisphenol A in plastics. Source: Nutrition Business Journal consumer research study

Consumers Would Skip Convenience Packaging to Help the Environment
(Progressive Grocer)

Research from The Nielsen Company shows that more than half of U.S. consumers would give up all forms of convenience packaging if it would benefit the environment. This includes packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home, packaging that can be used for cooking or doubling as a re-sealable container and packaging designed for easy transport.

Nielsen also found that consumers are not as willing to give up packaging designed to keep products clean and untouched by other shoppers, packaging designed to keep products in good condition, and packaging that preserves products to make them last longer and stay fresher. Also on the list of “can’t pass up” is packaging information, including food labeling, cooking and usage instructions.

Additional stats found by Nielsen:

• More than half of U.S. consumers claim to recycle cans, bottles and/or newspapers all the time, with 20 percent recycling most of the time.
• Roughly 40 percent of consumers occasionally look for products with less packaging.
• Nearly 60 percent of consumers make an effort to buy fruits and vegetables at a local farmers’ market.

How Generations View Convenience
(Food Technology)

Convenience, as a consumer value and product benefit, has been on the table for as long as people have been rushing to put dinner there. Food companies and marketers continue to focus on convenience as a consumer need and food technologists have weighed in as well. As a result, terms like “quick,” “instant,” “minute,” and “ready” have become the norm for so many products.
But, the term convenience means different things for different generations – Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millenials. Take a look below at how the age groups differ as far as how they view convenience.

Boomers – Kitchen Competent (born 1946-64)
These individuals have skills in the kitchen and putting a meal on the table is not a problem. They connect to advertising that focuses on the value of time and remember the clever jingles that go along with it.

How they make a lasagna dinner:
Boomers prepare lasagna from scratch, and while it is cooking they make a salad from a head of lettuce, a tomato, and a pouch of dry Italian salad dressing mix. They next pop some garlic bread in the oven made from a loaf of French bread with margarine and garlic salt.

Generation X – Lost in Space (born 1965-77)
To the Gen Xer the term “scratch cooking” is unfamiliar. They were raised when education and careers were emphasized more than domestic skills. They also lack cooking ability and confidence and love the microwave.

How they make a lasagna dinner:
Gen Xers prefer frozen lasagna. They will pick up a loaf of garlic-flavored bread and will open a bag of prepped Caesar salad complete with croutons, grated Parmesan and salad dressing. While the lasagna is in the oven, they will help the kids with homework, pay bills online and surf the internet.

Millennials – The Cooking Curious (born 1978-2007)
This group is showing an interest in cooking. They are discovering the value of learning to cook not out of necessity but purely for the experience of it. Their behavior has a hybrid look to it. Weekend meals mean social scratch cooking, while weekday meals mean the microwave gets a workout.

How they make a lasagna dinner:
For Millennials, the lasagna experience is an authentic one and will most likely be a group effort. They will source tomatoes, garlic and basil for homemade sauce from a farmers’ market.  They also will make their pasta by hand, pick up fresh ricotta cheese and Italian sweet sausage, and prepare rosemary and onion focaccia. In addition, they will pull together an antipasti platter and source the best Chianti to pair with dinner.

Consumer Demand and Today’s Shrinking Entrée
The traditional entrée is shrinking, taking the form of small plates and snacks. Entrées that have staying power are convenient, diverse and easily portable.
(Prepared Foods)

According to Technomic’s “Snack Category Report,” as time-deficient consumers look for ways to satisfy their appetites without sitting down to a full-sized meal, snacking has continued to grow. Among the findings of Technomic’s research are that nearly all adults snack between meals from time to time; snacks are perceived less by their content than by price; supermarkets have become a preferred venue for snacks; and taste and convenience are the primary drivers in choosing a snack.

Of the adults surveyed for the study, 97% said they snack between meals at least occasionally, which comes as no surprise. Perhaps more interesting is how consumers define snacks, where they get snacks and what they eat as a snack.

When asked the most important factor they consider when choosing a snack, consumers overwhelmingly said taste. Although this may not be surprising, it is a very important point for foodservice operators to consider.

Consumers have very specific ideas of what they consider a snack. Each of these expectations—inexpensive, convenient and tasty—can be met by both limited-service and full-service restaurants. Lifestyle trends indicate that the snacking habit will only grow in the future, so it will be more important for restaurateurs to incorporate flavorful snack items on their menus, positioning them as convenient and below the $3 price ceiling.

Re-inventing Entrées to Go
The quality of the traveling entrée is most important. In this competitive environment, building takeout business requires careful attention to both food quality and cost control. The 1,500 consumers surveyed for Technomic’s new “Takeout Category Report” revealed that the taste and integrity of takeout fare are of the utmost importance.

While patrons appreciate convenient features like curbside pickup and dedicated parking, their top priorities center on being able to duplicate “at-the-restaurant” quality in the comfort of their homes.

Home cooking away from home is gaining steam. Meal assembly centers resurrect the dream of home-cooked dinners for busy families who lack the time, skill or desire to prepare meals from scratch and do not want to expend time and energy in grocery shopping, cooking and cleanup.

Other perceived benefits of meal assembly centers include:

• A value-oriented alternative to dining out, with meals averaging $3-$3.50 per serving.
• Homestyle comfort foods with broad appeal such as chicken bakes, lasagna, enchiladas, casseroles and soups.
• Ever-changing menus (most change monthly) and theme menus (such as a Father’s Day celebration, a summer barbecue or a Mediterranean meal).
• Meals that are perceived as better-tasting, fresher choices than traditional retail frozen foods (although freshness usually is not a core positioning—canned soups, sauces and vegetables are used by most centers).
• Healthy, nutritious meals (with some centers offering a special menu of health-oriented dishes).
• Kids have more meal options—dishes with broad family appeal or even a separate children’s menu.
• Alternative party venues (some centers offer private sessions for occasions ranging from baby showers to corporate team-building exercises to singles’ nights).

Menu Inspiration from Retail
Insights from the retail side also demonstrate the trend, as chains such as Whole Foods and others go head to head with the “Food Away From Home” category with prepared takeout foods of their own. Many Whole Foods stores have expanded their prepared food departments to incorporate stations such as a wood-burning pizza oven, a hot dog grill for “all-natural” franks or an exhibition stir-fry station at which customers first select ingredients.

The Challenge is Innovation
Restaurant operators face an uphill battle when it comes to innovation—keeping the consumer engaged is key, and flavors play a central role. Consumers are looking for bolder flavors and unfamiliar foods. A recent Technomic consumer survey found that 64% of consumers would like to try unfamiliar flavors. Some 74% of those looking for unfamiliar foods also are looking for bold, unique flavors, and 72% are looking for new flavors within ethnic cuisines.

The ethnic approach adds newness and provides an innovative experience for the customer. Many operators are meeting this demand by increasing ethnic offerings, as well as by injecting bolder flavors into dishes.

Latin Cuisine is Mainstream
(Prepared Foods)

An article asked the question, “Latin Cuisine:  No Longer Ethnic?” The answer is a resounding yes! The article notes, “Latin cuisine is no longer considered ethnic by most American consumers.  Restaurants in every geographic area of the U.S. now carry Latin-inspired items as part of their regular ‘American’ menus, and new items are being added by chefs and embraced by diners.” The prevalence of Latin-inspired menu items, such as McDonald’s new Chicken Snackwrap.

The article discusses the origin of many “American” favorites, such as hot dogs and pizza. Of particular note, the article states, “Mayonnaise was a classic French sauce, prepared by master chefs for gourmet diners in fine restaurants.  Today, “mayo” is as American as (Dutch) apple pie.

It is noted that most culinary trends begin on the tables of fine restaurants, which make their way to casual dining, through fast-casual chains and onto quick service restaurant menus. Next stop, we can find such items on “America’s supermarket shelves and in our refrigerators.”