Nearly two-thirds of American adults agree that the pandemic has caused them to reevaluate their life priorities, according to Mintel research on American values. When it comes to food and drink, American adults say that the pandemic caused the biggest changes in where they eat, in the way they shop and in the way they approach their diets. Many of these new habits and attitudes will be routine when “the next normal” comes to the U.S. UU.
Consumers will have more flexible dietary needs, will depend on e-commerce and will adopt a proactive approach to health. Consumers' decisions about the amount of different types of convenience foods they buy are influenced by time constraints, prices, the food environment and financial resources. Ready-to-eat foods include many types of food, from bananas to frozen pizza, that require little or no preparation. Understanding what motivates these consumers to buy precooked foods has important implications for public health, since prepared foods are often associated with lower nutritional value.
The growing demand for precooked foods gives formulators an increasing opportunity to innovate consumer trends with a simple, portable solution that consumers can enjoy anytime, anywhere. Almond and almond-based ingredients offer the versatility and ability to be formulated within numerous trends in precooked foods and beverages. Households where all adults are employed buy 12 percent less ready-to-eat food in grocery stores and 72 percent more food in full-service restaurants than households where not all adults are employed. Whether they're healthy snacks to go or fresh ingredients to cook at home, consumer food trends determine the reality of retailers.
On the other hand, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides program participants with funds to buy food at grocery stores and, as a result, SNAP participants tend to buy more food at grocery stores and less at restaurants than non-participants who are eligible for SNAP. Jenny combines her experience in trends with food and beverage topics such as health, formulation, sustainability and premiumisation. Focusing on mental and emotional health should be considered a long-term trend, as people between 18 and 34 years old are the most likely to be open and seek mental health solutions, according to Mintel data on trends in health management in the U.S. While these precooked foods save time, they tend to have lower nutritional values and may be more expensive than foods that require more time to prepare.
For consumers like these, the goal is to counter the rise of fast lifestyles, support local food and combat people's declining interest in where food comes from.
