Market trends show changes in eating patterns

A recent survey conducted by New Nutrition Business in the USA, UK, Australia, Brazil and Spain found that interest in eating more nutrient-dense foods is climbing, with 18% of participants saying they look for foods that pack in beneficial nutrients relative to energy content.

“Compared to 2021, this was the eating behaviour that had the biggest increase in consumer interest,” said food industry expert Julian Mellentin.

Brazil showed the highest level of interest in nutrient density of the five countries surveyed, with Spain second at 23% and the UK lowest with 7%. The survey also found that participants under the age of 34 are more likely to be looking for nutrient density than older participants.

“In contrast, the trend of consuming fewer carbohydrates appears to be levelling off,” Mellentin said. “Across the five countries, 26% of respondents said they were trying to eat fewer carbs in 2022 — the same as in 2021.”

Over the last 10 years, consumer beliefs regarding food and health have become more diverse as online research has become more universally accessible. Most eating patterns reach a natural ceiling with about 25–30% of consumers and very few become mass behaviour.

From 2014 onwards, the trend to consume less meat grew strongly; however, it is levelling off, with an unchanged rate of 24% of respondents in the survey since 2020.

In terms of meat reduction, Brazil and Spain had the highest number of respondents participating, at 31% and 30% respectively, while the US scored lowest at 18%. Meat reduction was more common among participants aged 55 and above.

“It seems counterintuitive, but it’s what we have been finding for several years, as have many of our customers,” Mellentin said. “The idea that it’s the young driving meat reducing largely comes from lazy journalism.”

As a sign of growing diversity in eating patterns, there are newer health interests showing up that remain niche but have a steady growth rate. Eating to improve hormonal health is an example of this, followed by a steady rate of about 8% in the US, Australia, Spain and Brazil, and 4% in the UK. This issue concerns women’s health more than men’s and as such, an increasing number of women are turning to food and supplements to manage hormonal health.

Another emergent trend is the avoidance of seed oils — such as canola or sunflower — which is a concern for 6% of people, up from almost zero in 2019. This growing interest relates to concerns about inflammation.

According to Mellentin, these emerging behaviours are more important for corporate strategy than veganism, which is often sensationalised in the media but has been found to be practised by only 3% of participants in the survey, a number that has remained unchanged since 2019.

Image caption: iStock.com/Serg_Velusceac