FoodService

Trends Influencing Consumers’ Menu Choices in 2017

Restaurant industry sales are forecasted to reach US $799 billion in 2017, a 1.7 percent gain (adjusted for inflation) over the industry’s estimated 2016 sale, according to the National Restaurant Association’s “Restaurant Industry Outlook 2017”. Significant variance among geographic regions and industry segments will affect restaurant sales performance, with quick service and fast-casual sales expected to total US $233.7 billion in 2017, a 5.3 percent gain over 2016 sales volume.

Infographic: Retailer Meal Solutions

Fresh prepared foods at retail are a bright spot in the U.S. food and beverage industry – sales have been exploding over the past five years. This US $26 billion market has experienced growth that is outpacing that of both retail and packaged goods, as well as foodservice, with expectations for even greater gains. This Technomic infographic shows some of the numbers driving the biggest trend in supermarkets.

Consumer Demand Drives Growth in Retailer Meal Solutions

Most consumers live life in a blur and they desire products that help them save time and gain a sense of control. The need to recover a sense of control influences many buying decisions in the intensifying pursuit of quality, convenience, customization and well-being. Companies and brands across all sectors are creating new products and services that promise to return this sense of control.

Research - Personalized Nutrition Now and Into the Future

The market for personalized nutrition is widespread, fragmented and here to stay, according to Personalized Nutrition – Today and into the Future, PMA’s new report by the Hartman Group, commissioned exclusively for PMA members. This overview provides insights about: • How consumers currently personalize their diets, including technologies they use. • What the future holds for personalized nutrition and how produce marketers can capitalize on this growing trend.

Research - Healthy Lifestyles

According to the Hartman Group’s recent report, Weight Management & Healthy Living 2015, Americans increasingly see themselves as responsible for their own weight and a growing number (32 percent) say there is nothing wrong with being overweight as long as person is healthy (up 11 pts from 2010) indicating Americans have come to accept their weight status. The report finds that weight management in the 21st century is increasingly not as much about short term efforts (“dieting”) as it is about permanent dietary alterations that are part of the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle.