When it comes to dessert, people have different definitions of what it means to them, as well as different habits regarding when they eat it and what their favorite types of desserts are. To appeal to more consumers and increase interest in desserts, understanding their habits, as well as what they define as dessert, is key.
First, let’s learn more about what people consider dessert, before diving into how often they enjoy it.
What do consumers think of when they think of dessert?
In Technomic’s 2017 Dessert Consumer Trend Report, powered by Ignite, 62% of consumers say they define dessert as anything sweet eaten immediately or shortly after lunch or dinner. Though some people say they define dessert as items like fruit, alcohol beverages, ice cream or frozen treats, most consumers (71%) say they define dessert to be traditional sweets such as cookies, pie and cakes.
In short, desserts can be loosely defined as something sweet that is usually indulgent. Though some consumers think of things like cheese plates, or even a cup of coffee or tea as desserts, and others classify dessert as something sweet or indulgent that’s eaten anytime, a majority differentiate a dessert from a snack by when it’s eaten—after a meal.
How often do consumers eat dessert?
So how often do consumers eat dessert? Knowing now what dessert is defined as, it’s easier to find out how often they eat it. After all, eating a piece of fruit for breakfast probably wouldn’t be considered dessert, while eating one after dinner might be. According to the Technomic report, 32% of consumers say they eat desserts after a meal twice a week or more, while 25% say they eat it often—at least once a week. On average, consumers eat dessert 4.8 times per week.
When it comes to the “why” of eating dessert, 75% of consumers say that compared to their typical behavior, they are more likely to eat dessert when they want to treat or reward themselves, while 58% say they’re more likely to eat dessert when they’re happy. Other factors contributing to indulging include being stressed, being sad, or having a bad day, but overwhelmingly, consumers eat dessert more when they’re feeling good or when they want a treat.
Desserts that are gaining popularity
While the tried and true desserts like cookies, cakes and ice cream will likely always be crowd pleasers, some other desserts are on the rise—according to Technomic’s MenuMonitor, trifles and layered-dessert mentions have increased about 11% on restaurant menus year over year, while sticky toffee pudding has increased about 13%. Lemon cheesecake and blueberry cheesecake are also becoming more common.
In c-stores, baked goods are up about 9% year over year, with instances of chocolate cake up 25%, cinnamon rolls up 14% and brownies up 8%.
Dessert mentions overall in c-stores are up 5% year over year as well—in other words, it’s a safe bet to say that dessert isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, no matter what diet craze is taking over.
Which desserts get the most love?
When consumers reach for something sweet, according to Technomic’s Dessert Report, they go for these treats at least once a month:
- Cookies: 74%.
- Baked goods such as brownies, muffins or scones: 67%.
- Cake or cheesecake: 65%.
- Donuts: 54%.
- Pie/cobbler: 49%.
- Ethnic desserts such as churros or cannoli: 31%.
Diving deeper, when diners choose cookies or baked goods as their dessert, the top five choices they make are:
- Brownie: 63%.
- Chocolate-chip cookie: 55%.
- Cinnamon roll: 45%.
- Chocolate cookie: 39%.
- Donut: 37%.
Other top dessert choices include cookies with candy pieces (such as M&M’s cookies), peanut-butter cookies, oatmeal-raisin cookies and dessert/cookie bars. Retailers should be sure to stock a variety of baked goods such as cookies, brownies, cinnamon rolls and more to ensure every customer finds something they like.
Dessert foods as snacks
Consumers eat dessert foods after meals, of course, but many consumers say they’d purchase a dessert as a snack, as well—and considering 83% of consumers eat a snack once a day, according to Technomic’s 2016 Snacking Occasion Consumer Trend Report, there’s a big opportunity to offer popular desserts as snack items. In the same report, 48% of consumers say they purchase snacks at least occasionally from c-stores, so retailers should cater to those snackers.
When choosing a dessert as a snack, 53% of consumers say they’d choose a brownie, and 55% say they’d choose a cookie. Offering several options of brownies and cookies can be a great way to draw in snacking dollars.
For retailers looking to sell more dessert items, the solution is simple: Give consumers the choices they crave most.
This post is sponsored by Prairie City Bakery