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With inflation driving up food prices and increasing interest in healthy foods, the food ingredients industry is facing numerous challenges.
Fast-moving consumer goods giant Cargill recently launched TrendTracker for the 10th consecutive year. Food Dive spoke to Keith Albright, the company’s North American marketing insights and analytics manager, at IFT First in Chicago earlier this month to discuss the findings.
“A healthy mindful diet for me”
Over the past few years, more and more consumers have been pursuing a healthier and more satisfying lifestyle.
“Mindful eating” has become a buzzword. According to Albright, it basically conveys the idea that consumers should avoid certain ingredients and choose products labeled “natural,” “clean label,” or “whole.”
Albright said the key to this trend is natural desire and ingredient avoidance: Consumers want to know what’s on the label.
For food companies to respond nimbly to these trends, they must rethink how certain foods are packaged and marketed to consumers.
“We know that high-intensity sweeteners are natural, but do consumers think that? In fact, sometimes I don’t think that’s the case,” Albright said.
When consumers feel they don't understand the ingredients and foods they're eating, companies may miss opportunities to engage them at the point of purchase, Albright added.
According to Cargill's TrendTracker, 62% of consumers read food labels.
“They’re not going to pick up the product and look at the ingredients, but it probably takes two seconds for the two of us to look at the ingredients and say, ‘That’s enough,’” Albright said, emphasizing that companies need to focus on those two seconds.
Specific ingredients that consumers avoid include sugar (72%), sodium (47%), and saturated fat (41%).
Albright said focusing on ingredients is a little different than reading a label on a package.
Consumers want to understand what those ingredients mean, as well as include certain ingredients in their diets and avoid others. More information about them.
44% of consumers are interested in foods and drinks for their medicinal properties.
“This is a great example of the tension between the pursuit of goodness and the element of convenience,” Albright said.
According to Albright, BodyArmor, for example, does a good job of communicating what it offers to consumers and the health benefits they can expect.
The “eat and live” trend surprised Albright.
“We're targeting a wide range of demographics, from Gen Z to millennials to Gen Xers or Boomers, and as they move through their life cycle, they're initially interested in energy, then brainpower, then heart health, then weight management, and as they age, they're interested in personalized nutrition.”
“Conscious consumption”
Health, convenience, value, and experience have always been at the crossroads of consumer decisions. The inner workings of how these factors play into purchases have changed.
According to Albright, There are two major trends here. One is “value acceleration,” meaning consumers are looking for more ways to stretch their food budgets without sacrificing the value of the food.
“Price isn’t everything,” Albright said. “Value means something different to consumers now.”
During the 2008 recession, consumers turned to private labels or cheaper brands when they had little money. Now, they won’t do that if a brand doesn’t meet their expectations or doesn’t fit their tastes, according to Albright.
“Transparency and trust are other important components of this trend,” he said.
46% of consumers agree that for food and drinks to be healthy, they must be healthy for themselves and the environment.
“Consumers are ‘right factor“That means their purchasing decisions are impacting more than just how they eat and their overall health,” Albright said. “If you think about a 500-space parking lot for a health club, someone is throwing trash on the ground. “What's interesting is that they're not going into that parking lot to take care of the environment, they're going to take care of their own bodies. So that one person in that 500-space parking lot represents a trend toward more care for the environment and for themselves.”
“Try it out”
Despite the growing interest in healthy foods, consumers still seek out sensory experiences without the guilt.
“Taste is still king,” Albright said. “Indulgence is really important to the mind and your complete satisfaction.”
The restaurant industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and now consumers are trying to tighten their food budgets, and according to Albright, taste is a big factor in consumers’ decisions about what and where to eat.
“Simplify my life”
The final trend addresses the back end of dining, and is all about balancing foodservice, omnichannel and direct dining support.
“I always like to say, who would have thought, five or 10 years ago, that we would be comfortable getting in a car with a stranger, paying them, giving them our credit card number? Who would have thought that right now, we would be completely comfortable having a stranger deliver our food?” Albright said. “That openness has made my life simpler, and it’s really unique to see.”
According to the report, 56% of consumers now order groceries online. That percentage has increased during the pandemic, and while growth has slowed slightly, it will continue, the report says.
The Cargill report also found that 65 percent of dinners are cooked in 30 minutes or less.
One trend that surprised Albright was how much social media has influenced eating habits.
46% of consumers said technology made food preparation faster, saved them time, and made the cooking experience more enjoyable.
“So the complexity that technology can often bring is actually engaging in the joy of technology,” Albright said.
According to the report, 60% of consumers said social media encouraged them to make healthier choices in their diet and lifestyle.
