Apr 20, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC — April 20, 2006 — Family health and nutrition concerns are increasingly influencing household food purchases in the U.S., according to a new report from the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and PREVENTION magazine, Shopping for Health 2005: Meeting the Needs of Family Health and Wellness.

The annual study also shows that shoppers are buying more organic products for health reasons, and that they most often purchase these goods from supermarkets.

“Shoppers are moving toward healthier diets and looking for guidance in making decisions about food purchases,” said FMI Senior Vice President Michael Sansolo. “This study provides supermarket operators with a blueprint for strengthening customer loyalty by addressing consumer health and wellness needs.”

PREVENTION Vice President Richard Alleger added, “Today’s consumers are more aware of diet and nutrition, and they express a strong desire to live a healthier lifestyle than they do now. This report offers retailers effective strategies for reaching these consumers and helping them with their nutrition goals.”

Shoppers Seek Healthier Solutions

More than 60 percent of shoppers surveyed believe their diets could be healthier (70 percent for shoppers with children). The reasons cited for seeking a healthier diet include: to lose weight (42 percent), prevent health problems later in life (39 percent), follow a doctor’s advice (30 percent) and manage an existing medical condition (28 percent). The reasons shoppers give for not eating more healthfully include time constraints (30 percent), the high cost of healthy foods (27 percent), lack of concern (23 percent) and conflicting information about what is healthy (21 percent).

Living and shopping healthfully is of particular importance to families with children. Although two-thirds (67 percent) of shoppers “almost always” buy nutritious food products for their children, more than half (56 percent) say they have a problem ensuring their children have a healthy diet, and nearly three-quarters (72 percent) do not think their children get enough exercise.

Shoppers report concern about the healthfulness of the foods children eat at school. Only 28 percent report being very satisfied with the nutritional quality of school lunches, but 65 percent are very satisfied with the nutritional value of lunches brought from home.

Dinnertime poses another challenge — getting a healthy meal on the table that the family can enjoy together. Almost one-third (32 percent) of shoppers are trying to eat dinner together more often. That number jumps to 50 percent for younger households (ages 28 to 41) and 47 percent for Hispanic and African American households. The study also shows that 42 percent of shoppers, including those with children, get ideas for home-cooked dinners while food shopping. In light of these combined factors, the report suggests that supermarkets merchandise dinnertime by offering convenient and healthy meal solutions. Other recommendations:

  • Use advertising, in-store marketing and merchandising, websites and loyalty programs to promote products that can help prevent certain medical conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes) and contribute to a healthier diet and lifestyle.

  • Reach families by developing multiproduct promotions that include healthy, easy-to-prepare items with broad appeal, emphasizing the positive experience of eating together as a family.

  • Provide more information and consultation to help guide shopper choices, and offer periodic screenings, tests and health-focused events (e.g., cooking classes) to actively engaged shoppers with a store’s healthful offerings.

  • Use more cross-merchandising to promote sales of health-related items such as vitamin supplements, prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and herbal remedies.

Organic Foods Seen As Healthier Option

Shoppers are buying organic foods for perceived health benefits, according to the report. The reasons cited for organic purchases include better nutritional value, higher level of freshness, more beneficial to long term health and better taste.

Produce remains the strongest organic category, with dairy products showing the strongest growth. The most popular organic products recently purchased by shoppers:

  • Produce        37 %

  • Cereals, breads, and pastas         25 %

  • Dairy        23 %

  • Packaged and frozen foods          21 %

  • Eggs        18 %

  • Meat and poultry   17 %

  • Soups and sauces   12 %

Organic shoppers are more likely to make their purchases at a supermarket (48 percent), followed by organic/natural food stores (18 percent), supercenters (15 percent) and farmer’s markets (8 percent). Of those shoppers that regularly buy organic foods, most indicated that the availability of health and nutrition information is very important and that they will go out of their way to shop at stores that teach them about healthful eating.

Special Webinar Will Feature Report Highlights

Results from the study will be the focus of a free online seminar, “Enabling the Health/Diet Connection” hosted by Retail Wire (www.retailwire.com/webinars) on Tuesday, April 25, at noon Eastern. Featured presenters will include Bill Bishop, president, Bishop Consulting and Richard Alleger, vice president, Rodale Press, Inc. Panelists will include Michael Sansolo, senior vice president, FMI; Mike Twitty, senior manager, shopper and channel insight, Unilever Best Foods; Odonna Mathews, vice president and consumer advisor, Cotandy, Inc.; and Al McClain, CEO, RetailWire.

Methodology

Data for this report was obtained from telephone surveys of 1,000 adults across the U.S. Respondents must have had primary or equally shared responsibility for their household’s grocery shopping.

To purchase Shopping for Health 2005: Meeting the Needs of Family Health and Wellness, visit the FMI Store at www.fmi.org/store or call (202) 220-0723.