This report explores what consumers (families) want and why when it comes to food in the household. Understand and respond to the family food trends shaping food product purchases and consumption.
Topics Analyzed
- Important food product attributes for families.
- Food Attributes/products considered worth paying more for.
- Food product purchases made by families within the last 3 months.
- The biggest challenges stated by consumers when feeding families.
- Attitudes toward/behaviors around feeding families.
Family Food Trends in the US
Despite nutrition being the most sought-after product attribute, and essentially universal, with 84% agreeing to its importance, it is not the attribute consumers are most willing to pay more for. Ease and speed, both of prep and clean up, win there, making simplification of the family meal the greatest opportunity for brands.
That said, consumers have a broad range of meal-related stressors, allowing brands to choose where they want to devote their R&D dollars and messaging efforts. Meeting more needs with a single product is always nice, but brands don’t have to boil the ocean to make a splash. Families are diverse; solutions can be, too.
Expert Analysis
Food industry analyst Michele Scott delivers in-depth insights with this report.
Families are willing to pay for convenience if products solve problems without compromise. Brands can play a role in feeding the family, from planning to execution.
Michele Scott
Associate Director, US Research – Food and Drink
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Executive Summary
- What you need to know
- What consumers want and why
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
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Market Dynamics
- Market context
- Market drivers
- Inflation is sticky, especially when it comes to food, making feeding the family a persistent challege
- Graph 1: headline CPI, shelter CPI, 2022-24
- Families are shrinking in size
- Feeding the family becomes more fraught as cost-of-living crisis surges
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Consumer Insights
- Families by the numbers
- Parents are positioned for cautiously optimistic spending habits
- Graph 2: parental status, by generation, 2024
- Graph 3: parental status, by financial health, 2024
- Smaller families are the majority
- Graph 4: number of children in household, 2024
- Help kids help their parents
- Graph 5: number of children in household, 2024
- More than enough burden to go around creates opportunity for brands to step in and lighten the load
- Graph 6: decision making in feeding the family, by gender, 2024
- Graph 7: decision making in feeding the family, by race and ethnicity, 2024
- Consumer fast facts
- Important attributes of feeding the family
- Nutrition rises just above ease
- Graph 8: important attributes in feeding the family, 2024
- Number of kids does little to change the need for speed
- Graph 9: important attributes in feeding the family, by number of kids, 2024
- Well-rounded brands offer solutions that balance key needs
- Graph 10: important attributes in feeding the family, by financial situation, 2024
- Attributes willing to pay more for
- Nutrition is table-stakes; ease is an upsell
- Graph 11: important attributes in feeding the family, 2024 – NET
- Graph 12: attributes willing to pay more for, 2024
- Reaching families of all sizes requires products to be as flexible as families are
- Graph 13: attributes willing to pay more for, by number of kids under 18, 2024
- Products purchased in the last three months
- Ready-to-eat is the new foodservice
- Graph 14: products purchased in the last three months, 2024
- Frozen takes the pressure off of budget worries
- Graph 15: products purchased in the last three months, by financial situation, 2024
- Large households take more shortcuts on the path to mealtime
- Graph 16: products purchased in the last three months, by number of children, 2024
- Attitudes toward convenience
- Too much convenience can alienate consumers who enjoy meal prep and planning
- Graph 17: attitudes about feeding the family, 2024
- Big families have tough decisions to make
- Graph 18: attitudes about feeding the family, by number of kids, 2024
- Everyone likes a deal; some just need it more
- Graph 19: attitudes about feeding the family, by financial situation, 2024
- Biggest challenges in feeding the family
- Stressors are evenly spread, so brands don't have to do it all
- Graph 20: biggest challenges feeding the family, ranked, 2024
- Think outside the "center of the plate"
- Graph 21: biggest challenges to feeding the family, by number of children – any rank, 2024
- Saving time for consumers is money for brands/retailers
- Graph 22: biggest challenges to feeding the family, by financial situation – any rank, 2024
- Family food behaviors
- Stress is a fundamental truth for families
- Graph 23: Family food behaviors, 2024
- Embrace the wave of snacking
- Graph 24: family food behaviors, by number of kids, 2024
- Letting kids decide can come with a downside
- Graph 25: family food behaviors, by financial situation, 2024
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Innovation and Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Brands are bulking up
- Private labels offer side dishes across a broad spectrum of retailers
- Bring it home for brunch
- Brands can stay a staple whether serving one or all
- Bulk protein serves as a shortcut solution for meals big and small
- Marketing and advertising
- Private-label snacks are moving into niche territory
- Niche includes flavors and ingredients
- The "convenience" equation is greater than the sum of its parts
- Single-serve meals don't have to be TV dinner
- Opportunities
- Failing to plan means means planning to fail
- Everyone has a role in the planning process
- Kids can cook, too
- Something fishy is going on at home
- There are so many fish in the sea!
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Appendix
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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