Consumers Favor Farm-Friendly FoodsA. Elizabeth Sloan | November 2015, Volume 69, No.11

CONSUMER TRENDS

Backyard chickens, nose-to-tail cooking, farmers markets, estate brands, and rooftop/hyperlocal restaurant gardening are all in vogue. Americans are fascinated with agriculture, and food marketers who shorten the connection from farm to table are reaping big rewards.

Over the past year, nearly three-quarters of consumers thought about how their food was farmed or produced, and one-quarter thought about it a lot, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2015 Food & Health Survey.

Two-thirds of adults think that foods with a farm-related claim or narrative are healthier, 45% believe they are much tastier, and 31% are willing to pay more for these products, explains Technomic’s 2014Consumer Healthy Trends Report.

One-quarter of grocery shoppers cite farmers among the parties they rely on most to ensure the safety and nutritional value of their food, according to the Food Marketing Institute’s (FMI) 2015 U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends. Fresh frozen in the field, vine-ripened, hot house–grown, and living (e.g., lettuce sold with roots in a soil bulb) are among the large number of agriculture-based claims that are gaining traction.

Consumer interest in specialty agricultural crops, varietals, hybrids, and less familiar animal/marine species is unprecedented. New cuts of meat, nontraditional fish, grass-fed and free-range meat/poultry, underutilized fish (e.g., redfish, mackerel), cheeks, inexpensive/underused cuts of meat, and more exotic meats (e.g., buffalo, ostrich) are among the hot center-of-the plate culinary trends for 2015, according to the National Restaurant Assoc.’s 2014 What’s Hot? survey.

Ancient and more exotic grains/seeds, specialty/ethnic flours, exotic rice and potato varietals, and truly natural sweeteners are hot ingredients/side dish trends. Heirloom and hybrid fruits/vegetables unusual/uncommon herbs, unique varieties, micro-vegetables/greens, and exotic fruits make the list of what’s trending in the produce category. 

With 38% of shoppers defining “local” as “from their state,” state-branded packaged food products are moving into the spotlight, according to FMI. One-quarter of specialty food consumers bought American regional packaged foods, reports the Specialty Foods Assoc.’s 2014 Specialty Food Consumer.

Natural agricultural methods and the humane treatment of animals—up 39% and 16%, respectively—are the agricultural practices that have seen the greatest growth in consumer consciousness over the past two years, according to the Hartman Group’s 2015 Sustainability Report. Two-thirds of adults say they’d be much more likely to buy a food product if they knew the animals were raised in as natural an environment as possible and 63% would be more likely to make a purchase if the animals were not given hormones/antibiotics.

In addition, two-thirds of consumers think that free-range, cage-free, and grass-fed meats/poultry are healthier; nearly half think they’re tastier. One-third of consumers are willing to pay more for antibiotic-free/hormone-free foods, per Technomic. “Free of substances I wish to avoid, e.g. antibiotics/hormones” is the top reason for purchase, per FMI’s 2015 Power of Meat report.

Organic is the descriptor that consumers most often associate with how a food was produced/raised on the farm. In contrast, natural is more often connected to what happens to a food/beverage after it is processed, according to the Hartman Group’s 2014 Organic & Natural Report. Just over one-quarter (26%) of grocery shoppers are looking to avoid GMOs; that is up from 22% in 2014, per FMI’s shopper report.

Most important, nearly nine in 10 food shoppers are favorably influenced by a grown/raised in America claim; 66% would be very interested in this claim for meat/poultry, according to FMI’s meat study. 

With half (51%) of adults preferring to get their nutritional benefits naturally from foods versus fortification, varietals that naturally deliver higher levels of nutrients (e.g., mushrooms that are high in vitamin D) and meats/dairy sourced from animals fed higher-nutrient feeds (e.g., eggs that are high in omega-3s) will be in high demand among consumers.

Now is the time to promote the nutritional content of basic agricultural commodities. Seven in 10 adults (70%) associate meat with iron and protein, half believe that meat provides energy, and 44% associate it with building strength, according to FMI’s meat report.

More than one-third of the best-selling new foods/beverages in IRI’s 2014 Pacesetters Report carried a real fruit/fruit health benefit claim; 15% had a vegetable claim. The addition of real fruits/vegetables, juice, nuts, and seeds—or their natural or freeze-dried counterparts—to naturally fortify other food products is another fast-emerging trend.

Plant-based eating is gaining momentum. Nearly a quarter of consumers (24%) are regularly preparing more meatless meals as a health strategy and 47% do so occasionally, according to FMI data.