How Consumers Cope During a Pandemic
We surveyed consumers on how they are coping during the COVID-19 pandemic to better understand how their behaviors have changed.
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How eating and cooking behaviors have changed, according to consumers
Increase in Time Spent Eating
With so many people staying at home, there’s an apparent increase in the amount of time spent eating with family. Consumers are spending more time eating with family (63 percent) in addition to a general increase in time spent eating throughout the day (57 percent).
Time of Day Eating Consumption
Being stuck at home all day has given consumers constant access to their food and kitchen which has led to many consumers (47 percent) eating 3 meals a day with snacks while some (19 percent) are eating all day long.
How will this change in the new “normal” after the stay-in-shelter?
To Snack or Not to Snack?
While consumers are eating more at home and snacking more often, there is an opportunity to produce healthier, more functional snack options.
Brisan Group has conducted previous research into snacking and found that over half of consumers (58 percent) seek to achieve a full serving of fruits, vegetables and protein in a snack.
Additional Brisan Group research has shown that consumers are most interested (74 percent) in replacing their savory snacks with plant-based options.
“Salty snacks lead in the snack choice among consumers during the pandemic. (71 percent).”
“Now that the center aisles in grocery stores are becoming a trend, it will be nice to see what type of healthy and shelf-stable snacks and beverages companies can make given this new normal.”
More Time = More Time to Try New Things
With more time then consumers know what to do with, people are looking for activities and fun ways to keep busy at home.
Our consumers reported that they are trying more labor-intensive recipes that ultimately are great distractions from the world around them. People are baking more and leaning into ‘projects’ that take multiple days like making bread or making a sourdough starter from scratch.
Having access to a kitchen most hours of the day has allowed this trend to skyrocket, but will consumers continue to tackle complex recipes and kitchen projects long after the pandemic?
Not only are consumers honing in on their culinary skills, but they’re also trying to make good use of their kitchen gadgets like crock-pots®, Instant Pots® and air fryers.
With 44 percent of consumers trying new recipes, 26 percent of those new recipes involve one of the mentioned kitchen gadgets.
This category increase of consumers using appliances like Crock-Pots™, Instant Pots® and air fryers will jump start Brisan Group to research the likes, dislikes and pain points of using them in recipes.
Key Take Aways at a Glance:
44 percent of consumers are trying new recipes
26 percent of those recipes include kitchen tools like Crock-Pot®, Instant Pot® and air fryer meals.
71 percent reported that salty snacks are their go-to choice during the stay-at-home order.
Overall, it’s clear to determine that consumers are turning to food to cope during this pandemic. Whether that means eating and snacking more during the day or challenging themselves to try new recipes including those that involve their kitchen appliances.
The shelter-in-place order has allowed consumers to spend more time with their families, with the biggest increase in time spent eating dinner together.