A new report from Waitrose shows that Britons have become thriftier but are more focused on health and quality when they’re doing their food shop. It also signals the era of the ‘weekend foodie’ and flags up hot trends like ‘flexitarianism’ and ‘eat it, tweet it’.
The Waitrose Food & Drink Report 2014 draws on a year of Waitrose sales and new consumer research. It shows that food choices are increasingly influenced by technology and social media – from how we shop and what we cook, to how we communicate about food.
The report suggests that shoppers are more ‘time-poor’ than ever. They shop little and often and in ways that suit them – regularly in convenience shops, grabbing breakfast on the move (sales up 10%) and looking for “foodie shortcuts”.
The Waitrose survey finds that friends and family are taking more time time to “feast adventurously together” on Saturday and Sunday, giving rise to ‘weekend foodie’. More shoppers are skipping meat on some occasions, or eating “meat-light” meals, leading to a rise in sales of vegetarian main meals, halloumi (up 46%) and stuffed peppers and mushrooms – these are the so-called ‘flexitarians’. The ‘rustic luxe’ trend meanwhile denotes a growing interest in natural, back to basics cooking where “bold, clean simple” ingredients rule.
The report shows how much of an impact social media is having on eating habits. Waitrose customers report “being inspired” by seeing reading about meals and recipes on facebook and instagram.
The retailer also identifies a trend that it calls ‘permanently healthy’, evidenced it says by the rise of free-from and low-in ranges. Healthy eating features and recipes in the media are also driving strong sales in everything from kale (up 95%) to Alaska Salmon (up 35%), quinoa (up 40%) to free-from (up 22%).
