PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. – U.S. consumers are skipping fewer meals, have mixed feelings about “fresh” products and are less concerned about sodium intake. These and other insights comes for the NPD Group’s 26th annual report on Eating Patterns in America, including a list of the foods and beverages we ate more of last year than ever before.
Created by nationally recognized food expert Harry Balzer, this year's Eating Patterns in America report examines food and beverage consumption in-home and away and addresses health and nutrition, demographic shifts and the economic factors driving consumption.
Some of the highlights:
Consumers are skipping fewer meals.
As Americans “prepare” and eat more meals in-home, they skip fewer meals. This year, consumers are skipping fewer meals than ever, according to the report.
Consumers have mixed feelings about “fresh.”
While consumers are less likely to use a “fresh” product to prepare dinner at home than they have been since NPD began tracking this in 1985, nearly every American household now reports buying produce from a farmer’s market at least once a year.
More consumers are buying health in a pill.
More U.S. consumers are taking vitamins, mineral supplements or dietary aids on a daily basis than ever before. Fifty-four percent of respondents reported using these products.
Sodium may be declining as a health concern.
There’s a lot of talk in the media about salt/sodium consumption, but the percent of Americans consuming a product labeled as low or reduced salt/sodium held steady for the fourth consecutive year at 34%. This is down from the 60% consumption levels seen in the early 1990s.
The foods and beverages U.S. consumers ate more of last year than ever before:
In-Home Meals
- Pizza
- Fruit
- Salty Snacks
- Yogurt
Restaurant-Purchased Meals
- Breakfast Sandwiches
- Hot Cereal
- Snacks Burritos
- Iced Tea
Meanwhile, Supermarket News reports that stable restaurant sales through July may indicate an improving industry and a bigger demand for restaurant dining. The National Restaurant Association pointed to a preliminary U.S. Census Bureau July report indicating that eating and drinking sales were $40.9 billion for the month, a record high that was first reached in June. Overall retail sales for July increased 0.5%.
The Census Bureau sales numbers were adjusted for seasonal variation, but not for price changes. Average restaurant sales for the first half of 2011 also showed improvement. From January to July, restaurant food and beverage sales increased 5.1%, grocery-store sales increased 5.6% and overall retail sales rose 8.2%.
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