Today's Specialty
Food Consumers:
Why
They Buy
should be considered
before launching your
next innovation and strategy:
Eating occasions are among the reasons why SFCs
buy specialty but they have spread throughout the
day and away from defined eating times, driven by a
demand for convenience and speed of meal prep.
Mealtime changes continue as Gen Z and Millennials
do things di•erently than Gen X and Boomers.
Dinner continues to decline in importance even while
it is likely to remain the number-one occasion for
specialty food and beverages.
Breakfast and lunch are both in a
steady-to-higher trend, as is snacking at home. A
rebounding of special occasions such as birthdays,
holidays, and parties after the pandemic has been
muted. Conversely, bringing to the oƒce/workplace
has moved a point beyond previous highs even
though return-to-work numbers still have a long way
to go. Apparently, those who are returning to work
want to make it something special.
Meals and Other Usage Occasions
for Specialty Food and Beverages
Superior quality
1.
2.
Superior flavor
3.
Interesting/unusual flavors
4.
Simple ingredients
5.
Authentic global flavors
When looking at usage occasion by generation, further data shows:
Treats moved to the top for Gen Z by a wide margin, but it is at least 50 percent for
all generations.
Dinner is much more important to Boomers and Gen X than to Millennials and Gen Z.
Snacks or meals on the go are far more important for Gen Z and Millennials than for
Gen X and especially Boomers.
Millennials are the champs at taking specialty food to the o‰ce, while Gen Z and
Millennials are equally interested in giving it as a gift.
2019 2020 2022 2021 2023
Annual Survey dates: January 2019-2020, July 2021-2022, August 2023
Base: Internet users age 18+ who purchased any specialty food and beverages in the past six months:
2019 - 1,212; 2020 - 1,170; 2021 - 1,182; 2022 - 1,242; 2023 - 1,157 Source: SFA
THE
5
Main Reasons
Why Specialty Food
Consumers Buy
and Beverages
Specialty Food
32%
43% 43% 43%
44%
n/a n/a n/a n/a
60%
40%
20%
0%
35%
36%
36%
36%
39%
64%
62%
55%
54%
53%
56%
58%
51%
53%
52%
47% 47%
44%
47%
40%
36%
38% 38%
25%
30% 30%
17%
18%
13%
15%
19%
16%
19%
13%
15% 15%
WINTER 2024 29
