Shoppers pay lip service to health concerns in the on-the-go market

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 2, 2010 -- While 37.6% of shoppers say they consider calories when they buy for lunch on-the-go, only 5.8% give calorie content as a reason for their choice of items. Comparable figures also relate to similar measures including nutritional content. In addition to lunch on-the-go, Evolution also discovers similar findings among shoppers buying snacks on-the-go between mealtimes.

In its comprehensive study, Evolution quizzed a representative sample of over 1,100 on-the-go shoppers about their snacking and lunchtime habits. Females were found to be significantly more likely to say they consider calories when shopping for snacks and lunch on-the-go than males, with 18-34s in particular the most prone to concerns.
Yet when it comes to drivers of item choice, Evolution finds that very few shoppers of any demographic actually cite calorie and nutritional content as reasons for their purchase. Moreover, among those who said they do consider calories when snacking on-the-go, chocolate bars are the most frequently purchased item. Healthy alternatives including cereal bars, fruit, water and smoothies fare less well, with a more significant increase in relative penetration only among those who state calorie and nutritional content as an actual reason for item choice.

Evolution Insights analyst, James Johnson, comments “Awareness of calorie and nutritional content among shoppers is particularly prevalent among the younger generations. In response we have seen a flurry of initiatives from food and drink manufacturers of late in the on-the-go market including calorie marked packaging, re-engineering for smaller formats and NPD focusing on health. Yet our evidence suggests that the majority of shoppers who say they consider their health when buying lunch and snacks on-the-go are less swayed by calorie content and nutrition of individual items at the point of purchase.”

The findings are supported by qualitative research that suggests many on-the-go shoppers in fact operate a debit/credit approach to snacking and lunch on-the-go. Evolution finds that impulse indulgence is often justified by trade-offs elsewhere in the diet, rather than by consideration of individual reduced calorie offerings as an alternative.

The study has important implications for food and drink manufacturers operating in the on-the-go market. Johnson comments ‘While health and wellbeing is clearly of increasing concern to shoppers, manufacturers should be careful to balance attempts to target shoppers with health messages with efforts to retain great taste and brand loyalty. Our study highlights that brand, value and taste remain the most important drivers of item choice among on-the-go shoppers’.

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For more information contact James Johnson on 0113 389 1038 or visit http://www.evolution-insights.com

Notes to editors:

*Evolution’s ‘On-the-go Shopper Mission 2010’ reports utilise a wide range of methodologies, including a demographically representative survey of 1,123 snacking on-the-go and 1,156 lunch on-the-go shoppers aged 13-65+, detailed store visits and focus group interviews. The reports present authoritative analysis, commentary and insight into the snacking and lunch on-the-go market covering shoppers’ motivations and behaviours, and retailer propositions.

** Evolution defines on-the-go shopper missions as “buying any food and/or drink for immediate consumption on-the-go, i.e. outside the home”. They exclude buying cigarettes or tobacco and dining in restaurants. The snacking on-the-go mission is defined as “a trip to a store to purchase food and/or drink for immediate consumption outside the home, between meal times”, while the lunch on-the-go mission is defined as “a trip to a store to purchase food and/or drink at lunchtime for immediate consumption outside the home. This includes items purchased for immediate consumption back at the workplace.”

More information can be found online at http://www.evolution-insights.com

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