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New Strategies for offering Convenience in Food - Targeting new

occasions, best practice and new solutions

Sample Pages

Reference Code: CS0605IS

Publication Date: July 2014

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Agenda

• Introduction and Methodology

• The Convenience Trend Explained

- Elements of the trend

- Age and lifestage shape the convenience needs of consumers

• For whom and where is the Convenience trend shaping consumption behaviors

- Convenience continues to be a growing market globally

- The need for convenience is not restricted to one demographic despite some consumers being more

time-scarce than others

- Consumption of convenient products is more heavily influenced by consumer lifestages

• Key drivers of the convenience trend

- Numerous market trends and developments in the workplace mean that the demand for convenience is

driven by the need for time-saving, de-stressing and enabling products

• Prime opportunities for targeting

- Different consumer groups with varying needs leave the convenience market rife with opportunities

• Recommended actions

• Appendix

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Reasons to buy this report

New Strategies for offering Convenience in Food - Targeting new occasions, best practice and new solutions

is a detailed insight report highlighting the most important trends and untapped opportunities in the convenience market. The

increase of fragmented meal times and the need for on-the-go products in both developed and emerging economies are

directly influencing consumer product choices, fundamentally changing the way that people eat. The change in consumer

lifestyles, including skipping meals and increased snacking on-the-go, means that retailers and manufacturers need to keep

up to date with salient issues that are affecting consumers’ eating habits. The report identifies the key consumer groups to

target and provides recommendations to capitalize on growing trends that are driving consumption.

Future outlook

The report provides insight to highlight the "so what?"

implications behind the data, and analysis of how the need

states of consumers within your industry will evolve in the

short-to-medium term future.

Identify key consumer targets

The report divides the main drivers of Convenience into four

key groups: Youth Population, Young Professionals, Mature

Professionals and Older Consumers. From here the report

identifies the convenience needs of each key consumer

target.

Understand the key trends shaping consumer behavior

Analysis of emerging consumer trends by key consumers

group including eating on-the go meal time fragmentation

and exactly how this is driving the convenience market; in

addition the report outlines products that have successfully

capitalized on existing trends and the trends that are

available for manufacturers to target with innovation in the

future.

Find out who eats what, and why

This report identifies the key consumer demographic

groups driving the consumption of convenience food based

on demographic profiles: Developed Economies (France,

Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK and the US) and Emerging

Economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The figures

reveal the products considered most convenient and the

areas to be targeted.

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Executive Summary

Convenience is a growing global need that holds many opportunities

• The convenience sector is growing and this will continue as consumers feel

increasingly time scarce. Although consumers may not necessarily have less

time than previously, time absorbed by mobile smart devices and social media,

as well as a preference for their most favored activities, leads to consumers

feeling short of time.

• Convenience is a widespread need that is important across age groups. The

youngest consumers have busy schedules filled with schooling and extra

curricular activities; as parents balance these activities with their own work and

family commitments, the need for convenient products for children becomes

crucial. Working consumers seek convenience as they work ever longer hours

with shorter lunch breaks, hence their search for time-saving products. The

elderly population also seek convenience, not because they are time scarce

but in order to enable their independence and chosen lifestyle.

• Within the Canadean consumer trend framework, the Busy Lives and

Changing Lifestages trends give the best indication of consumers’ need for

convenience. In turn, this quantifies the high global demand for time-saving,

easy-to-use, convenient food products.

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Executive Summary

Convenience is important across all elements of purchase and consumption

• As consumer lifestyles become more hectic and packed full of activities,

consumers will increasingly look at ways of making all elements of their

consumption more convenient. Firstly, this will include the retail outlet they

choose to shop at, with some consumers moving towards e-retailers for their

grocery shopping to save time.

• The packaging of products also influences consumption. Busy consumers will

look for packaging that is suitable for on-the-go consumption while Older

Consumers will look for lightweight and accessible packaging.

• Consumers are becoming increasingly dependent on convenience food as it

becomes part of the standard diet in many countries. This leads to depleting

cooking skills and increasing numbers of consumers unable to scratch cook.

Furthermore, consumers feel they have less time to spend cooking and hence

they frequently seek out time-saving meal-time options.

• Finally, consumers base their consumption on the benefits of the food they eat.

As meal times become more fragmented, consumers look to snacks and quick

meal time solutions for all their nutritional intake and varying needs throughout

the day such as energy boosts or relaxation.

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Executive Summary

Consumers are increasingly driving the demand for convenient products

• The growth of the global convenience market is driven by an array of factors

including increased stress levels of workers who battle longer-working hours

and shorter breaks. Furthermore, there are increasing numbers of women in

the workplace who have to juggle work and family commitments. Deferring

retirement ages leads to more Older Consumers working who seek convenient

energy boosts to see them through the day.

• The growing significance of single-parents in modern markets means there are

more time-scarce parents single-handedly managing jobs and the home,

hence their need for convenience. Moreover, the busiest consumers in the

market are seeking out convenient options which allow them more ‘me time’ to

spend on more favorable activities.

• Consumers living to an older age drive the need for convenient lifestyle

enablers, which are products that allow them to continue to live as they always

have. Often these products are also adopted by younger consumers who see

them as a better alternative.

• Increasing numbers of younger cohabiting couples, flat-shares, and empty-

nesters is leading to a rise in the number of consumers living without children.

Children are a huge motivator to cook healthy meals from scratch for many

consumers, hence childless households often turn to premium convenience

foods for meal times in order to grant them more free-time.

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Executive Summary

The convenience market is rife with opportunities to exploit

• Manufacturers can target the busiest consumers with time-saving products.

There will always be a market here as consumers feel increasingly time

scarce.

• Easy-to-use products with added health benefits are a key opportunity to

exploit in order to target the needs of the growing older populations.

• Family-friendly convenient products, including fast meal time options and

snacks that suit every family member, will be a prime opportunity as modern

family structures become more common across society.

• Young Professionals can be targeted with more premium, indulgent products

as their low level financial commitments allow them higher disposable incomes

and the opportunity to trade-up to such products.

• Further opportunities exist to target stressed consumers with ready-to-eat

snacks and comfort foods that will offer them escapism.

• Meal skipping and fragmenting meal times are becoming increasingly common,

as such, manufacturers can target convenient alternatives in place of

traditional meals.

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As would be expected, the Youth Population, comprising those aged from 0-15 years have the most leisure

hours in a day. However, this does not mean that they do not seek out convenience. 13.6% of consumption by

the Youth Population is motivated by the Busy Lives trend, this is owing to the high number of activities

squeezed into a child’s day. The emersion of the ‘over-scheduled’ child is a growing concept whereby children

are engaging in more than 20 hours of scheduled activities a week, on top of school time. As such, parental

convenience comes into play, whereby parents purchase convenient products that offer their children nutritious

food for their consumption.

Both young and Mature Professionals are the most time restricted, owing to this they are increasingly likely to

search out convenient products for both snacking and meal times in order to grant themselves more leisure

time to spend on their more favorable activities.

Despite professionals being the most time restricted, all consumers have a need to

seek out convenient products

12%

34%

26%

16%

12%

Young Professionals

13%

33%

27%

15%

12%

Mature Professionals

10%

24%

26%

15%

25%

Older Consumers

100%

Youth Population

Volume consumption by age group and leisure time:

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Delayed responsibilities mean that consumers’ require differing convenient

products dependent on their life-stage

Consumers globally are delaying responsibilities such as

marriage and children until later in life. This leads to

differentiation in the type of convenient products that

consumers demand at different stages in their lives.

In the UK for example, figures from the Office for

National Statistics show that 20% of women now reach

the age of 45 without having children – twice the

proportion among the previous generation, born in 1945.

Convenient family pack sizes in the UK would previously

have been aimed at consumers in their early 20s, now

consumers are getting married and starting families later

in life, the targeting of family convenience products

needs to be aimed at those in their 30s.

This also highlights the evolving convenience needs

among Young Professionals. As more consumers are

living alone, co-habiting with partners but without

children, or living with friends, smaller pack sizes and

food that can be eaten while on-the-go become

increasingly important. Often consumers lack the

motivation to spend time cooking just for themselves,

hence consumers seek out high quality, convenient,

nutritious meal time solutions.

1985

F: 25.8

M: 29.6

2010

F: 29.7

M: 31.2

1981

F: 23.0

M: 25.4

2009

F: 31.8

M: 33.2

1990

F: 26.1

M: 28.9

2011

F: 31.7

M: 34.1

1980

F: 23.3

M: 25.2

2009

F: 26.9

M: 28.8

Source: Knoema, Gender Statistics, 2014

Average age of marriage for females (F) and

males (M) in the US, Germany, Japan, and the UK

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Case Study: Targeting meal times

Batter Blaster

This is an American product that

can be dispensed instantly into

a frying pan to create pancakes.

The product offers the home

cooked feel without any

preparation required and has a

long, ambient shelf life. The

product is ideally positioned in

place of a traditional, scratch

cooked breakfast.

Smucker’s Uncrustables

Smucker’s Uncrustables are

packaged peanut butter and jelly

sandwiches. The products are

premade, sealed sandwiches

that are designed to go straight

into a lunch box or bag, without

the need for separate ingredients

and preparing the sandwich prior

to consumption. They are clearly

positioned to target the lunch

time occasion or to be consumed

as snacks throughout the day.

Eggology

Eggology On-The-Go is a

microwavable scrambled egg in

a pot that it can be eaten out of.

The product is Kosher, Organic,

and made from 100% egg

whites. It is successful owing to

its versatile use as a relatively

healthy breakfast or lunch option.

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Consumers want convenient products in place of traditional meals

As meal times become progressively more fragmented, consumers are

looking for convenient meal time solutions and snacks in order to sustain

them and provide their necessary nutritional intake. Manufacturers need to

capitalize on this and create easy solutions for consumers.

Breakfast and lunch are commonly skipped in place of grazing on smaller

portions of food throughout the day. Manufacturers can target this from two

perspectives, firstly they can produce nutritional, filling, tasty, and easy to eat

snacks that can be consumed at any point during the day. Secondly,

manufacturers can provide consumers with a convenient product targeted in

place of a traditional meal-time; this includes innovations into on-the-go

breakfast products and interesting lunching items to attract consumers away

from traditional snacking items.

Convenience at the dinner table is also key. Manufacturers need to provide

more experimental evening meal solutions which are convenient to prepare

and serve. These will be attractive to consumers whose palettes and tastes

are becoming more diverse as they are exposed to increasing numbers of

global cuisines. Consumers are not necessarily skilled enough to produce the

meals themselves from scratch, nor are they willing to invest the time, hence

their need for convenient solutions. In terms of socializing in the home,

increasingly consumers are sharing premium snacks and drinks rather than

sharing in a meal-time. This provides an opportunity for manufacturers to

produce sharing size packs and exclusive editions of popular snacking

products that lend themselves to sharing.

Best Practice:

Sharaku – Japanese Food At

Home is a meal kit to bring

sushi preparation into the

home. The product successfully

appeals to consumers looking

to conveniently experiment with

new cuisines. The packaging is

designed to look like that of an

authentic Japanese outlet,

hence further affirming the

quality of the product.

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Summary Methodology

This report is comprised of two data research programs

MARKET DATA

• Method: analyst triangulation of

consensus numbers based upon

comprehensive primary and desk

research as part of an international

research programme.

• Coverage:

• 50 Countries

• 8 channels

• Value and Volume data

• Internationally comparable data

• 100% standardized definitions

CONSUMER DATA

• Method: extensive consumption surveys

and consumer group tracking with strict

age and gender quotas to ensure

nationally-representative results.

• Coverage:

• 10 Countries

• 20 Consumer Trends

• 26 Consumer Groups

• Integrated market sizing at the

country and category level

• Interim 2013 Consumer data

generated by mapping 2013 Market

size data onto 2012 Consumer data

consumption values

Details on the methodology for both of these research programs can be found in the Appendix.

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