Translating Food & Beverage Consumer Trends for Market Success

A hectic lifestyle may also be creating challenges for parents who are trying to ensure their child is getting the proper nutrition (Figure 3). NMI research shows over a third (38 percent) of working mothers are not monitoring many important ingredients in their child’s diet such as sugar, cholesterol, calories and fiber—higher compared to non-working mothers. Parents with teens show higher limiting behavior regarding the amount of cholesterol and trans fats in their child’s diets, while households with young children limit more allergy-oriented items like dairy, pasta and wheat, and negative ingredients such as caffeine and artificial sweeteners.

While parents of young children are trying to limit the amount of sugar their children consume, they are more likely than households with teens to use table sugar on a regular basis, possibly preferring to offer their children something natural as opposed to artificial. This opposition to artificial ingredients appears to be part of the “organic halo” that exists in households with young children, as the majority believes organic foods are better for their children.

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According to NMI’s LOHAS (Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability) Consumer Trends Database™ segmentation model, consumers are shifting away from the “unconcerned” segment, characterized by little to no environmentally responsible behavior, where society and the environment are not priorities. These consumers are shifting into segments that either dabble, accept or embrace many environmental and societal responsibilities.

This shift has considerable implications across many aspects of an organization, from its social responsibility behavior, to its manufacturing practices and sustainability efforts, to its packaging. As consumers grow more concerned about the need to preserve and protect the environment, they will look to companies to do their share to protect the environment. An example of this trend in foods and beverages is related to fair trade practices, with about half of all U.S. adults indicating the use of fair trade certified ingredients are important to their purchase decision.

In fact, over half (60 percent) of all U.S. adults indicate that knowing a company is mindful of its impact on the environment and society makes them more likely to buy their products, be more loyal to the company (57 percent), and more likely to talk to their friends/family about the company (52 percent).

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The most environmentally dedicated segments, the LOHAS and “naturalites” segments continue to raise the bar as far as expectations of companies and their responsibility to manufacture in a sustainable manner, to use renewable energy sources and to provide recyclable packaging. In fact, approximately three-quarters of the U.S population feel it is important for a product to not only use minimal packaging but also environmentally friendly packaging materials.

From sourcing to usage to post-consumption, these “cradle-to-grave” opportunities exist across all organizations to become more eco-friendly. Keeping an eye to the most entrenched segments should prove most opportunistic. 

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