August 20, 2003 Recent News
Single person households - a potential goldmine
Food preference and consumption among the elderly
New prepared foods promote home cooking
Consumer knowledge, attitudes, and practices in diet and weight control
Critics assail F.D.A. plan to rank health claims on food packages
Single person households - a potential goldmine
A Datamonitor study reports that over a third of all European consumers live alone and have a combined spending power of 140 billion euros, making the group a major opportunity. Single-person households spend 50% more per person on consumer packaged goods (CPG) than those in two-adult households, and overall "singles spending" in Europe should grow 4% a year until 2007 to just under 190 billion euros. The fastest growing markets are Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK. In the study, singles are broken into several categories, among them the "single late-mid-lifers" (aged 35-49), who have the highest CPG spending because of higher income, a general lack of dependents and a desire to spend for comfort. The group accounts for about 20% of the singles market. The most lucrative group, however, is the "long-term singles group," who " have high earning power, normally no dependents, are independently minded and place a high priority on enjoying their lives." The "new singles" group has a strong interest in convenience and speed and consumes a lot of ready meals, while "single seniors,' the largest group, consider money and convenience key concerns. According to a Datamontor analyst, one must understand key needs and how those affect demand for food, drinks and personal care.
(Extracted from Food Industry Reports, 7/17/2003)
Food preference and consumption among the elderly
Two executives from Peryam & Kroll Research Corp. report that by 2020, 25% of the country's consumers will be at least 60 years old, creating an impressive demographic for the food industry. Research indicates that aging includes a loss of some sensory perception, including taste and smell, which can be exacerbated by medications. On the other hand, trigeminal sensations, such as pepper "burn," pungency of vinegar or mustard, or the carbon dioxide "tingle," do not fade as dramatically. There is a difference between amplifying the flavor of a food or ingredient and enhancing flavor by adding other ingredients. Flavor enhancement appears to have the most appeal and best results in promoting food preferences. Texture perception and possibly salivary flow can also decrease with age, affecting food intake in the elderly. Supplementary nutritional foods, such as premixed drinks or snacks, can help keep caloric intake at an appropriate level. The increasing elderly population may result in a "growing demand for the development of good-tasting, nutrient-dense foods."
(Extracted from Food Technology, 7/1/2003)
New prepared foods promote home cooking
According to Harry Balzer, vice president of the NPD Group, consumers are going back to the kitchen table - given the right price and time considerations. In the past nine months, Balzer says meals eaten are home are up 2%, while "restaurants have been tanking." He says this is possibly because of the economy and the availability of more tasty convenience foods. Easier is the biggest trend, but "home meal replacement," the buzzword a few years ago, is not really what people want. Supermarkets, says a marketing professor, made a bad judgment when they thought consumers wanted someone to cook their meals for them. He said the whole concept was misguided and supermarkets did not have the skills or expertise to compete with restaurants. What consumers do want varies from time to time, ranging from doing all of the work to having someone else do it. According to an officer of the Food Marketing Institute, cooking is the least bothersome part of fixing dinner, with most people being willing to devote 15-20 minutes to that. They are more concerned about preparation than cooking time. According to research from Kraft Foods, the key factors appealing to shoppers are time, ease of preparation and flexibility. The Kraft FreshPrep Dinner Kits are an example of convenience that allows for customization. Meals are changing and desserts, which were served with 21% of meals 20 years ago, are now down to 14%. In 1990, 68% of dinners had a side dish and that has dropped to 56%. To get to the next level of convenience, many companies are working to convert one dish to the main meal; but at Lipton Side Dishes, a brand manager says its approach is to introduce ethnic flavors to quick-cooking side dishes such as noodles and rice. NPD's Balzer predicts that there will be a steady decline in households where meals are cooked but the recent reversal could be a positive one. According to experts, in order to capitalize on the slight momentum, food marketers must do the following: stay current with trends, find ways to make convenience food with less processing (i.e. fresher), think time and money savings, include health in plans, and develop more sophisticated food products.
(Extracted from Stagnito's New Products Magazine, 6/1/2003)
Consumer knowledge, attitudes, and practices in diet and weight control
At the 2002 AOCS Annual Meeting, Sylvia Rowe, president and CEO of the International Food Information Council, presented the following information on consumer attitudes on weight control. Rising rates of obesity are associated with gradual changes in a complex set of social factors. Increased media attention to this problem demands accurate, meaningful, health and science information. But the media's major obstacle in communicating science is a lack of understanding of the scientific process, and the fact that each study is part of the process of discovery and is not the last word itself. Forty-eight percent of consumers claimed to receive their health news from TV, 47% said they used magazines, and 18% got information from newspapers. This reliance on the media has led to confusion, given that the media often contradict themselves. Information about vitamins and supplements is the most confusing, followed by nutrition stories, and it has become difficult to know whether the information actually warrants behavior change. No single health message will apply to all individuals, especially on the topic of weight management. An advisory group of professionals has investigated the progress of health information and published a set of guidelines for improving this process. The International Food Information Council began research to develop a communications and education program for the prevention of obesity and overweight in children. From the results, the ACTIVATE program was developed -- a comprehensive communications outreach to deliver information and programs in the home, school, and community settings.
(Extracted from Inform, 6/1/2003)
Fat tax to curb obesity?
"Fat taxes" have been proposed in a number of countries as a measure to combat obesity. The British Medical Association wants a 17.5% value added tax on sausages, crisps, cakes, biscuits and other processed foods. The UK Food and Drink Association says it would hurt lower income families. Ireland is also proposing a tax on fatty foods in hopes it would make manufacturers develop more healthy foods. In the US, a New York state legislator has introduced a bill for a 1% levy on snacks and sweets and wants to use the money to fund childhood obesity programs. The Grocery Manufacturers of America says 26 bills have been submitted in 15 US states. Earlier this year, a tax on candy and soft drinks was dropped in Nebraska when it became evident that it was hard to define "candy." A recent survey conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health found that over half of respondents did not want a tax on junk food. In the same survey, respondents said obesity was a public health issue and not an individual problem. The World Health Organization's director for non-communicable diseases and mental health warned that the media is obsessed with obesity and such intense attention stigmatizes the obese and ignores the fact that thin people are not necessarily healthy. He said the WHO was not likely to recommend a fat tax because it would create "incredible distortions in the food market with potentially uncontrollable effects which may be undesirable." Instead, he wants better promotion of vegetables and nuts and foresees that flavorings could play an important role as food makers develop healthier products.
(Extracted from Chocolate & Confectionery International, 7/1/2003)
Critics assail F.D.A. plan to rank health claims on food packages
The FDA's proposed health-claim grading system for use in labeling foods, unveiled July 10, is meeting with some criticism. The consensus among food makers and diet professionals is that the system, which would use a letter grade scale based on supporting scientific evidence - or lack of evidence - would simply introduce more bureaucracy and confuse the public even more. Under the proposal, products would get an "A" if health claims were based on significant scientific agreement from well-documented studies and "B" would be for good scientific support but not as good as those with the "A" grade. A "D" would indicate claims with little scientific evidence to support them. The FDA plans to use the system as an internal method to determine the process by which to review health claims submitted to it and also wants to put grades alongside health claims on labels. The agency says it will spend up to a year working with consumer focus groups and questioning food makers on the issue. A spokesperson from the American Dietetic Association says he sees some practicality in using the system internally but does not think consumers need to know about it. "If it's not scientifically sound, the claim shouldn't be made, period," he said. Another proposal by the FDA is to predetermine language used for qualified health claims, and the Grocery Manufacturers of America says it has "serious concerns" over that.
(Extracted from Milling & Baking News, 7/22/2003)
