Rapid changes in food consumption spurred by the pandemic. What will stick and what won’t?
Americans suddenly rediscovered kitchen appliances they forgot they had. Until shelter in place, Americans spent over half of their food dollars on food eaten out of home. Now those dollars are for meals eaten in the home. With that change, Americans rediscovered their kitchens and their gadgets like instapots, bread makers and yes, even those seldom used ovens. There is obvious pent up demand for meals out of home, but will the restaurants be there when the stay at home orders lift?
One thing’s for sure: delivery’s here to stay. As the stay-at-home orders continue, more consumers are giving it a try. Will it stick? Perhaps not at these levels, however, delivery was upward trending leading into the pandemic. This just likely reinforces the purchase behavior. Food retailers and restaurants are being forced to make it work for them.
Plant based foods have just achieved a giant boost due to unforeseen events: the shutdown of the Tyson and Smithfield plants and subsequent meat shortages, early shelter in place panic-shopping, and stay at home focus on family nutrition. No amount of in-store sampling nor promotions could ever have achieved trial and purchase behavior at these rates. But is it sustainable? Plant-based foods are currently higher priced than less healthy, mass market processed foods. With the recession, it’s anyone’s guess where the trend will go.
History will tell.
