BELLEVUE, Wash. -- It’s the conundrum that convenience store retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers have been tasked with solving for the past few years: Consumers opt for healthy foods during one eating occasion, then splurge for indulgent products during another—all in the same day.
Bellevue, Wash.-based The Hartman Group recently expanded on this feeding phenomena in a report listing the top seven ways consumers alter their dining habits.
Consumers are trying to make smarter choices but also seek new tastes and cuisines when dining out. This “constant balancing act between selecting food that is fresh and healthy vs. food that is tempting and exciting” is the crux of the group’s report, “Diners’ Changing Behaviors: Sustainability, Wellness & Where to Eat.”
The top seven diverse reasons diners are changing their behaviors are drawn from values such as health and sustainability, economic, domestic and exotic. The list is broken down as follows:
- Spending less (45%)
- Ordering healthier options (42%)
- Avoiding sugar-added beverages (34%)
- Eating out less frequently (34%)
- Trying new flavors and styles of food (31%)
- Choosing freshest cooked-to-order menu items (25%)
- Exploring more global or ethnic types of food (18%)
There is an “intersection of sustainability, health, nutrition and eating-out behaviors,” according to the report. This confluence means that restaurant and foodservice operators are tasked with capitalizing on all trends “to maximize and accelerate revenue growth, profitability and customer loyalty.”
From a retail channel perspective, Blaine Becker, director of marketing and communications with The Hartman Group told Convenience Store Products that “traditional food retailers and convenience stores are in a tug of war with restaurants, particularly fast-food and fast-casual restaurant chains, for share of consumers’ grocery and dining dollars.”
To garner increased foot traffic, according to The Hartman Group, c-stores and other retail channels should consider:
- Offering affordable/value-driven prepared food options;
- Becoming well-positioned to cater to the snacking occasions throughout the day;
- Merchandising breakfast occasions with both pre- and post-breakfast snacks, which underscores how different food and beverage occasions are today from the past;
- Showcasing smaller portion sizes and healthier food options (for example, healthy beverages and energy drinks);
- Playing up the convenience aspect of foods;
- Offering interesting new flavors, global entrees and ingredients; and
- Becoming digitally inclined by helping customers interact with them through social media or other online platforms.
Stay tuned for the second half of this coverage in tomorrow’s Convenience Store Products newsletter, where we discuss The Hartman Group’s take on the importance of being digitally-minded in your foodservice operation.
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