By Leslie Sarasin, President and CEO, Food Marketing Institute
As witnesses to national consumer trends affecting the way FMI members cater to their customers, I appreciate chances to learn directly from our members on ways they seize opportunities with shoppers and help set the tone for the future of our industry. That’s exactly what happened recently at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Food Forward event, where I had the pleasure of moderating a discussion on Mapping Consumer Trends that featured Nicole Davis, Senior Innovation Manager of Our Brands for Kroger. During the discussion, Davis outlined six consumer trends that align with what we learned in our national U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2018 findings.
Trends reveals that grocery shopping is becoming America’s new pastime, with 85 percent of our population who claim to be active grocery shoppers. These shoppers are demanding radical personalization like our industry has never seen before. Each shopper has his or her own food purchasing equation — a set of personally nuanced factors taken into consideration when grocery shopping — and the individual's shopping equation is as unique as his or her fingerprints.
Kroger, which serves 9 million customers each day, is experiencing similar, supporting trends, according to Davis. Here are Kroger’s six consumer trends:
Trend 1: Simple and Real
Seven in 10 consumers look for ingredients they recognize while shopping for food.
Trend 2: Globetrotting Tastes
Forty percent of millennials in the U.S. cook a dish from another culture at least once a week.
Trend 3: Plant-Based Foods
Fifteen percent of the U.S. population are vegans and vegetarians and one-in-three people claim to be flexitarians—choosing to eat plant-based meals occasionally or at least once a week.
Trend 4: Digestive Health
Eighty three percent of adults experience gastrointestinal problems and 32 percent agree probiotics are essential.
Trend 5: Zero Waste Movement
Six billion pounds of fresh produce goes unused each year.
Trend 6: Values Based Shopping
In a recent Harris poll, 67 percent of millennials say they would prefer to buy a private label through a company they trust.
These Kroger trends align with the radical personalization FMI's Trends research revealed. For instance, a flexitarian who recently traveled to India is going to have very different shopping habits from a millennial dad looking for simple ingredient foods for his kids. This radical personalization means the shopper expects the retailer to discern, respect and curate according to his or her set of individualized values. The retailer who proves to be the best partner in helping the shopper find the preferred solution to his/her distinct equation will reap the rich rewards of customer loyalty.
Industry Topics address your specific area of expertise with resources, reports, events and more.
Our Research covers consumer behavior and retail operation benchmarks so you can make informed business decisions.
Events and Education including online and in-person help you advance your food retail career.
Food Safety training, resources and guidance that help you create a company food safety culture.
Government Affairs work — federal and state — on the latest food industry policy, regulatory and legislative issues.
Get Involved. From industry awards to newsletters and committees, these resources help you take advantage of your membership.
Best practices, guidance documents, infographics, signage and more for the food industry on the COVID-19 pandemic.
