Eating Green
 |
Local Foods Gain on Organic
1Local foods eclipsing organic as the hottest category? A Wall Street Journal report says Whole Foods Market’s sales of local foods have risen to 16.4% of total sales in response to consumer demand. |
Eating Healthy
 |
Baby Boomers at Leading Edge of Health and Wellness Trends
2Hartman Group consumer research also shows that Baby Boomers continue to be at the edge of many important health and wellness trends, as they are driven to learn more and change their behavior by issues of aging—ranging from creeping weight gain or the discovery that they have high blood pressure or high cholesterol, to learning of the premature death of a friend or family member.
|
 |
Volumetrics Diet May Be a Key to Dieting Success
3Curbing hunger by consuming a low-calorie soup or salad at the start of a meal may be key to dieting success, according to clinical research published in Consumer Reports. After studying and rating effectiveness for eight popular diet plans, the Volumetrics Diet topped the list.
Developed by a nutritionist, its key tenet is encouraging dieters to fill up on low-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables and consume a low-fat soup or salad before meals to take the edge off hunger.
|
 |
Balance Healthy and Indulgent with Flavorful, Fresh on Menu
4Because the majority of the population is not on a particular diet but, instead, tries to eat healthy, it’s essential to find a balance between healthy and indulgent when describing menu items. For this reason, consumers were asked to name the items they most recently ordered and to identify the menu item descriptors that motivated their choice. The descriptors most likely to influence menu item choice were:
flavorful (44%), fresh (44%), grilled (33%) and tender (27%). These descriptors walk the line between healthy and indulgent. Fewer consumers chose words that might be perceived as being too indulgent or too healthy.
|
Live it up
 |
"Fresh" on the Menu Evokes the Health Halo
5To accommodate diners who seek adventure and those who crave comfort foods, restaurants offer both. What’s “healthy” may be confusing, but there’s one word that evokes the health halo—“fresh”—fresh produce, foods prepared to order or LTOs that showcase seasonal foods.
Operators feed the need for “little luxuries” by giving patrons opportunities to trade up on menu items or an enhanced restaurant experience.
4Bottom line: Taste still rules, but more and more consumers want foods that are good for them too. Only a very small minority of the population is on a strict diet. The majority of consumers try to negotiate the line between healthy and indulgent when eating out. |
Resources
1 Technomic, Future Food Trends, Issue 2, 2007
2 Technomic, Future Food Trends, Issue 3, 2007
3 Reuters
4 Technomic, American Express Market Brief, March 2007
5 Technomic, Food Service Digest, February 2007