[CONSUMER TRENDS] by A. Elizabeth Sloan The Foodie Phenomenon he ever-escalating foodie upscale presentation. new recipes, according to In terms of claims, specialty movement is continuing to Not surprisingly, a new, more Packaged Facts. Eight in 10 (79%) food consumers are most likely Tblur the lines between spe- sophisticated culinary “savor- of specialty food buyers like to to buy foods that are all natural cialty and mainstream foods. ing” food experience—defined experiment with new recipes, (63%), organic (57%), locally Three-quarters (76%) of U.S. by freshness, distinctive flavors, reports NASFT. sourced (48%), eco-friendly adults enjoy talking about new/ and storytelling about food—is According to Mintel’s (35%), artisanal (27%), sustain- interesting foods; 70% consider moving center stage. One-third Cooking Enthusiasts—U.S., a able (25%), and Fair Trade (24%), themselves knowledgeable of all adult snacking, 29% of kids’ 2011 report, 33% of consumers according to NASFT. about food; and 53% regularly eating occasions, and 34% of like cooking and 23% love cook- Specialty food manufactur- watch cooking shows, according adult alone eating occasions fall ing. Among these enthusiastic ers believe that all natural, local, to the National Association for into this new upscale “savoring” chefs, 92% like to experiment, and sustainable are the claims the Specialty Food Trade’s category, according to Hartman 63% try to replicate restaurant that will drive growth in the next (NASFT) Specialty Food Group data. meals, and 41% regularly spend three years. Consumers 2012. Foodies are not a homoge- more than three hours preparing • Healthy Foodies. Foodies Two-thirds (68%) of adults nous group and selectively over a meal at least once a week. over index for health awareness; now purchase specialty foods for index for a number of food behav- Seven in 10 specialty food 42% count calories, more than twice the percentage of the gen- A new, more sophisticated culinary ‘savoring’ food experience—defined by freshness, eral population; 36% are much distinctive flavors, and storytelling about food—is moving center stage. more likely to say nutritional value is the most important fac- tor in what they eat; 31% want to everyday home meals, reports iors. Here’s one approach to consumers are always looking try to lose weight. NASFT; 34% do so for a special categorizing them. for new ingredients to use in rec- • Restaurant Foodies. occasion. • Fans of Foreign/Spicy Food. ipes; 81% say it is worth it to pay According to a 2012 Culinary Total sales of specialty foods According to Packaged Facts, for better quality ingredients, per Visions Panel survey, 54% of reached $75.1 billion in 2011, 29% of foodies are more likely to NASFT. casual diners are foodies as according to NASFT’s State of enjoy eating foreign foods than • Gourmet Foodies. While the characterized by their desire to the Specialty Food Industry 2012. the general population; 24% have terms foodie and gourmet are try new menu items always or Chocolate, specialty oils, cheese, a much higher than average pref- often used interchangeably, they usually when going to a restau- and yogurt/kefir are purchased erence for foods cooked with a are not the same. FoodiesRestaurant will rant. These Foodies adventurous diners by more than half of specialty lot of spices. often go in search of the best hot are significantly more likely than food shoppers; yogurt/kefir is the More than half (57%) of spe- dog or burger ratherAccording than oper- tothe a general 2012 population Culinary to choose fastest-growing sector. cialty food shoppers bought ate strictly on the hauteVisions cuisine Panelmenu survey, items with 54% bitter, of sour, and According to Packaged Italian specialty items in 2012; level. There is, however,casual a gour -dinersumami are flavors. foodies as Facts, based on Experian 56% bought Mexican products; met component tocharacterized the foodie by Lastly,their foodie/specialty desire to try food Simmons consumer survey data, 38% Asian/Chinese; 28% movement. One-thirdnew of menu foodies itemsconsumers always are ormuch usually more likely 19.5% of the adult population or regional American; 27% other index nearly double thewhen main- goingthat to the a populationrestaurant. overall to 44 million adults are “true food- Asian (e.g., Thai); 21% Spanish; stream population for wanting to entertain guests in their homes ies,” who are characterized by 19% Mediterranean; and 12% eat gourmet all the time.These adventurousregularly and diners to drink arewine with their interest in trying new prod- Indian, per NASFT. • Organic/Naturalsignificantly Foodies. moremeals, perlikely NASFT. than FT the ucts and more intensive • Enthusiastic Chefs. Foodies Nearly half (46%) ofgeneral foodies are population to choose attitudes/behaviors about for- are much more likely than con- significantly moremenu likely to itemslook with bitter,A. Elizabeth sour, Sloan, and eign, spicy, gourmet, and natural/ Contributing Editor sumers overall to look for the for organic foods; 35% prefer toumami flavors.• President, Sloan Trends Inc., organic food as well as their freshest ingredients possible, to eat food without artificial addi- Escondido, Calif. desire for fresh ingredients and really enjoy cooking, and to try tives, per Packaged Facts. • [email protected] pg 18 02.13 • www.ift.org.