Takeaways and
Insights
SUSTAINABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORT
Waste reduction concerns are a motivator when selecting where and what to
shop for, according to SFCs. More than one-third (36 percent) like to shop
where the company is committed to recycling and reducing packaging.
That number rises to nearly half for Gen-Zs surveyed (46 percent).
Similarly, 35 percent of SFCs prefer to shop where a company is committed
to eliminating food waste, composting, and/or selling ugly produce.
Millennials are the most likely to agree with this statement at 43 percent,
followed closely by Gen-Zs at 40 percent.
HEALTH-FOCUSED TRENDS
Better-for-you themes top the trends that appeal to SFCs. They report they are most
interested in trying: foods available only in certain seasons; high-protein snacks;
vegetable-based snacks; foods made with grain-free alternatives; and ready-to-drink
nutritional beverages such as high-protein drinks, kombucha, probiotics.
DEMANDS FOR DIVERSITY
One-quarter of SFCs report that they like to shop where the store features
products from diverse suppliers including women-, Black-, BIPOC-,
LGBTQ+-, veteran-, and disabled-owned companies. This is especially true
among young shoppers, with 38 percent of Gen-Z echoing these statements.
PART-TIME PLANT BASED
Consumers report ongoing increases in occasional plant-based diets. SFCs who
say they eat a plant-based diet 50 percent of the time jumped 33 percent over
2020, hitting 12 percent. SFCs who report always following a plant-based diet
also rose 25 percent.
FOOD KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Health and knowing where their foods come from are top motivators
for SFCs. More than one-quarter (27 percent) expressed high interest
in a food scoring system on product packages that provides
nutritional guidance. Twenty-eight percent reported being very
interested in a way to scan a food product to see information on
where the product came from, who made it, how it was produced,
and nutritional data.
LIFESTYLE DIET INTEREST IS HIGH
Usage of various diets continues to expand. The number of respondents who reported
100 percent commitment to diet types increased across the board over last year; only
low-carb diets saw a drop. Interest spans diet choices. Some highlights: 22 percent of
respondents are totally committed to both high-protein and low-sugar diets. About
one-third are interested in following a low-carb or low-sugar diet occasionally,
28 percent are considering trying the Mediterranean diet, and 24 percent are
considering trying the keto diet.
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