German Attitudes towards Healthy Eating and Drinking Consumer Report 2024
For German consumers, financial means are a strong barrier to healthier food and drink consumption.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- The five year outlook for healthy eating and drinking
- Market context
- Government strategies aim to make healthy eating more accessible
- Graph 1: eating five portions of fruit or vegetables, ideal frequency vs reality, 2023
- Consumers say its too expensive to eat healthily all of the time
- High prices and financial pressures threaten the adoption of healthy eating habits
- Mintel predicts
- Expect consumers to nudge themselves towards healthier habits
- Technology will play an increasingly important role in moulding healthy consumption habits
- Opportunities
- Help time-pressed consumers make the healthy choice with meal kits
- Natural ingredients to experience a surge in interest
- Educate consumers regarding their salt intake to boost personal health status
- Satiating ingredients are key in an era of high inflation
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MARKET DRIVERS
- The German economy
- 2024 is expected to remain challenging
- Graph 2: key economic data, in real terms, 2019-25
- The inflation rate is bouncing back to more conventional levels
- Inflation is still the key factor affecting consumers’ finances…
- …confidence and expenditure
- Graph 3: financial confidence index, 2022-24
- High prices are a barrier to healthy eating and drinking
- Graph 4: consumers who would consume less meat or fresh fruit/vegetables if they had less money to spend on food/drink, by financial situation, 2024
- Emphasising value beyond price can protect sales in times of economic difficulty
- Graph 5: behaviours prompted by having less money to spend on food/drink, 2024
- Satiating ingredients are key in an era of high inflation
- Legislative drivers for healthy eating and drinking
- BMEL nutrition strategy coupled with financial concerns may drive plant-based consumption
- Proposed advertising ban of unhealthy foods may improve health credentials of products
- Relatively elastic demand for meat alternatives
- Government investment in plant-based proteins could drive usage of the format
- Organic produce may attract more attention as consumers look to avoid ultra-processed foods
- Planetary health claims may become more clear cut with European regulations
- Demographic drivers for healthy eating and drinking
- Germans feel they’re getting less healthy
- Obesity levels remain high, competing pressures may hamper progress
- Graph 6: overweight and obesity rate, by age group, % of population, 2014 and 2019
- Health perception is declining, perhaps indicating downward health spiral
- Graph 7: perception of general health for a person of one’s age, 2021 and 2023
- Age Reframed
- Holistic health driven by gut health may increase dietary fibre intake
- Modern technologies will increasingly dictate healthy living
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Frequency of eating/drinking healthily
- More Germans claim to eat healthily all the time in 2024 vs a year ago
- Graph 8: frequency of eating/drinking healthily, 2021-24
- Address the say-do gap between understanding of importance of fruit/veg consumption and reality
- Graph 9: eating five portions of fruit or vegetables, ideal frequency vs reality, 2023
- Encourage more fruit/vegetable consumption with more convenient formats
- Barriers to eating/drinking healthily all the time
- Finances are a hefty barrier to eating/drinking healthily all the time
- Graph 10: reasons for not eating/drinking healthily all the time, 2024
- Finances are a hefty barrier to eating/drinking healthily all the time
- Graph 11: ‘it’s too expensive’ as a reason for not eating/drinking healthily all the time, by financial situation, 2024
- Private label/discounters can help squeezed incomes stretch further
- Healthy pre-prepared meal kits can expedite the cooking process
- Nutri-Score labelling will rise in line with BFY formulations
- Graph 12: food and drink launches with Nutri-Score labelling, 2020-24
- AI apps can help consumers make healthier decisions
- Healthy eating/drinking typologies
- German healthy eating & drinking typologies
- Visible health enthusiasts (14%)
- Graph 13: healthy eating & drinking groups, by age group, 2024
- Healthy lifestyle brands will attract Visible health enthusiasts
- Controlled healthy eaters (21%)
- Graph 14: healthy eating & drinking groups, by age group, 2024
- Attract Controlled healthy eaters with clean label products
- Food for fuel (24%)
- Graph 15: healthy eating & drinking groups, by age group, 2024
- Unbothered by health (22%)
- Graph 16: healthy eating & drinking groups, by age, 2024
- Balance seekers (19%)
- Graph 17: healthy eating & drinking groups, by age, 2024
- Balance seekers prefer to take the holistic approach
- Behaviours related to healthy eating/drinking
- Educating consumers on optimal salt intake can offer incremental health benefits
- Graph 18: behaviours related to healthy eating/drinking, 2024
- Address long-standing iodine deficiency with fortification
- Shake the negative health halo around salt…
- …and remould salt usage habits to unlock optimal flavour
- High blood pressure is a concern
- Position potassium-rich products as blood pressure regulators
- Guilt over UPF consumption may be a boost for all-natural, clean label products
- Attitudes towards healthy eating/drinking
- Healthy food/drink must convince on taste
- Taste continues to reign supreme in terms of attitudes towards food/drink
- Graph 19: attitudes towards healthy eating/drinking, 2024
- Hands Off vegan chocolate embodies Mintel’s Climate Changes, Comfort Endures Trend
- Food/drink with mood-boosting ingredients
- Mood-boosting treats will likely still appeal to under-35s
- Natural probiotics from fermented foods can foster longer term mental wellbeing
- Offer seasonal, locally produced foods to reduce environmental impact whilst narrowing the nutrition gap
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LAUNCH ACTIVITY AND INNOVATION
- Top claims in food/drink highlight the importance of the environment
- Graph 20: food/drink launches, by claim category, 2020-24
- Plant-based claims are only slowly taking off
- Graph 21: food and drink launches with vegan, vegetarian or plant-based claims, 2020-24
- Innovative vegan/plant-based private label launches focusing on energy
- Fruit and vegetables continue to lead the way on Nutri-Score usage
- Graph 22: share of food/drink launches with Nutri-Score inclusion, by top 10 categories, 2020-24
- Dr. Oetker demonstrates how the Nutri-Score can be ‘BFY’ in an otherwise indulgent category
- High-protein offerings scoring an A with reductive formulations
- Huel offers nutritional completeness in the convenience of a bottle
- Low/no alcoholic drinks are shifting the narrative from low/no to hydrating
- Food/drink can help form healthy habits amongst young children
- Blood glucose management expected to come to the fore as consumers look to maximise marginal gains
- Advertising and marketing activity
- Actimel capitalises on Germans’ health focus on the immune system by keeping it simple
- Yfood assures consumers of nutritional value whilst emphasising convenience
- Gönrgy promotes influencer energy through rap music
- Moderation generation can turn to alcohol alternatives with hydrating benefits
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APPENDIX
- Appendix – products covered, abbreviations, consumer research methodology and language usage
- Products covered in this Report
- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
- A note on language
Stay ahead of the curve and future-proof your business with Mintel’s Germany Healthy Eating Market Report 2024. Our full report is packed with consumer-led market intelligence, food trends in Germany, and an analysis of German consumer behaviour. Get a 360° view of attitudes towards healthy eating in Germany including a market forecast to help you align your business strategy with the needs of your audience.
Below, we’ve handpicked the key insights analysed in the full report and summarised the core topics.
Our Report Delivers Key Insights On
- Market drivers for healthy food in Germany, including the impact of the BMEL’s (Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture) nutrition strategy.
- Frequency of/barriers to healthy eating and drinking and how to boost fruit and vegetable consumption in Germany.
- Consumer behaviours related to healthy food in Germany and consumer typologies.
- Attitudes towards healthy eating and drinking and how to foster long-term wellbeing.
- Healthy Eating Trends in Germany: Launch activity and innovation.
Current Outlook on Healthy Food in Germany
17% of German consumers claim to eat and drink healthily all of the time, which is an increase from 2023.
The recently introduced BMEL nutrition strategy may contribute towards the democratisation of healthy food in Germany as the government hopes to make eating healthily easier for consumers. In the meantime, opportunities exist for typically cheaper discounters and private labels to bring healthy produce to a nation under financial pressure.
Attitudes Towards Healthy Eating in Germany: What Consumers Want and Why
- Barriers to Healthy Eating & Drinking: 38% of German consumers who do not eat/drink healthily all the time cite financial barriers as the main reason. These financial concerns are of higher significance than weight management for over half of Germans, confirming that high prices may prevent consumers from living healthier lives.
- Food Trends in Germany: Highly satiating ingredients are among the top food trends in Germany and will likely see an upswing in demand, as well as products that encourage consumers to take the long road to wellbeing, as holistic health takes centre stage.
- The Future of Healthy Food in Germany: Consumers will increasingly look to technology for dietary advice in the form of AI chat bots. This will appeal specifically to Germans aged under 35. We can expect to see more brands shifting towards more natural, ‘cleaner label’ formulations, as natural ingredients are a key purchase factor for 40% of German consumers when buying food and drink.
More About This Report
This Report looks at consumers’ attitudes towards healthy eating in Germany, as well as related consumer behaviours. All food and drink categories are included in this report.
Some brands included in this report:
Lidl, Maggi, WhatsApp, Samsung, Rewe (Ja!), getvuel, Dr Will, Nak’d, Banza, Whoop, Kellogg’s, Polphina, Cheerios, Edeka, Küstengold, and many more.
Meet The Expert
This report, written by Adam Millward, Associate Research Analyst, delivers in-depth commentary and analysis to highlight healthy eating trends in Germany and add expert context to the numbers.
For German consumers, financial means are a strong barrier to healthier food and drink consumption. Looking ahead, holistic health based around gut health and naturalness will take centre stage.
Adam Millward
Associate Research Analyst – Mintel Reports
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