All by myself: Almost half of all adult eating occasions are now solitary
Another speaker addressing the paradox of consumers being more interested in food, but less interested in making it, was Melissa Abbott, director of culinary insights at Hartman Group. Here are some insights from her presentation:
- As consumers become more involved with the food they’re eating, they’ll become less involved in cooking it
- 55% of families cook multiple meals or dishes to cater to individual taste preferences
- Today, alone eating makes up 47% of all eating occasions
- Almost two-thirds of eating occasion food choices are made within an hour of consumption
- 71% of consumers visit more than five different retail channels (eg. club, c-store etc) at least once a month for food
- 20% of smartphone users have recently used Pinterest for recipes or cooking instructions
- Moms are important, but only 22% of primary grocery shoppers are women with children in the household
- "We all know that consumers say one thing and do another. But that's not because they are lying, it's because they are aspirational."