Recipe for ?Chicken Soup for the Soul?

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Serves: a crowd

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Heat climate until close to boiling.

Take one large economic recession and add the following ingredients:

• Considered consumption as consumers seek to control their lives and balance their paycheques
• Stressed consumers looking to ?live a little? and escape from the austerity ... while still balancing their paycheques
• Consumers looking for ?value? or something beyond value from foods and beverages ? perhaps ?meaningful experiences??

Add a dollop of competition including a pinch of Private Label.

Blend well and bake in a heated environment.

What have you got?

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At the beginning of 2012, we highlighted key food and beverage trends being predicted by forecasters in the context of the continuing depressed economic climate.? Key themes emerging were:

• Consumers continuing to tighten their belts and seeking to control their lives, manifested through more ?considered or conscious consumption? and balancing their spends.? Reports suggested it was not a case of how much consumers were spending but HOW or where they were spending it, being more discerning in their choices...
• ... on one side, caution and budgeting, on the other splashing out on small luxuries or premium items to ?feed their souls?.? Consumers are looking to ?live a little?, and premium/indulgent foods are being seen as an ?affordable luxury?.
• ... but also being more demanding.? Simple ?value for money? is now mandatory for most - consumers are now expecting value from foods and beverages in different guises ? including meaningful and novel shopping, consumption and shared ?experiences?.

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Examples of how and what consumers are looking for (as well as how manufacturers can cater to consumer needs) included:

• Continuous innovation and surprises
• Customisation (in foods and drinks or menu options)
• Functional benefits ? health or nutritionally enhanced products, mood lifting foods. Quick fix solutions to boost energy, concentration or reduce fatigue, vitamins and minerals in convenient formats, more satiating foods/drinks
• Foods that proactively enhance health and wellness, but without any taste trade-off
• High quality ?not new, ?but perceptions of quality seem to be shifting.? Now it?s being defined through food provenance, local sourcing, authenticity and transparency (clear and simple labelling) cueing ?real? food and giving consumers reassurance over the food?s safety and credibility) ultimately empowering consumers and giving them more ?control? over their food choices

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In addition, reports concluded that consumers are also seeking enhanced shopping and/or consumption experiences, exemplified through ...

• Food as an adventure, eg; replacing actual foreign travel with ethnic foods and flavour experiences, new tastes, and authentic regional cuisine
• Shared food experiences, social connection, and a sense of community through food blogs, TV shows, food trucks, social dining etc.

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In summary ? consumers are looking for foods and beverages to make them feel better - food for the soul ? and that can be delivered via multiple routes ? giving manufacturers and retailers plenty of scope!

Our experience during the year has been that many of these trends and themes are being played out in the Australian market with many food and beverage launches tapping into and taking advantage of these consumption needs.? Our paper for the AMSRS conference this year ? ?Come dine with me, Australia? ? has also highlighted how these trends are manifesting themselves through evening meal preparation patterns.

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What we?ve found through our Market Research Online Community has mirrored many of these themes, though sometimes with a slightly different spin as these engaged consumers talk about how they plan, prepare and consume their evening meals, the multiple and varied sources of inspiration over the years and their needs and expectations looking forward.? We?d like to share a few of these insights here.

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• Less is more: consumers are telling us less is more; fewer, fresher or more simple ingredients and clear labelling can mean better quality and reassures consumers that there are ?no hidden nasties? in their foods, reflecting the re-discovered preference for ?real? food, for authenticity and transparency.? Linking with this, ?tell me what I can eat? - consumers told us they are jaded with the salt free / fat free terminology and being told what they shouldn?t be eating.? They are looking for enhanced foods and more balanced or positive messaging on foods.

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• No trade-off on taste: these consumers are now inspired to cook a wide variety of meals, the new cuisines, ingredients, cooking techniques and available allowing them to prepare tastier meals that please family and friends and give them a sense of adventure.? These consumers are also tired of trading health and taste ? they demand both ? confirming that taste remains the key driver of food consumption, even in these tough economic times, or perhaps even because of them?

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• Feel-good factor:? but over and above these, one thing that comes through clearly from this community was that consumers are looking for a ?feel-good factor? when it comes to food and drink.? The approach brought to life the emotional way in which consumers think, experience and talk about food using words like enjoyment, inspired, love, fresh, local, authentic, less guilt, happy and home-made, as well as highlighting their recognition that foods can affect how they feel, their mood, emotional state or physical well-being.

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At first view, this might seem novel and mirroring existing or emerging trends, but then it brought to mind for me an old favourite ? the novel ?Like Water for Chocolate? ? in which the lives of the key characters are so heavily entwined with and emotionally affected by food (albeit in some cases in extraordinary and magical ways!) ? but it serves as a reminder that food is and always has been intrinsically linked to our emotions, the way to a man?s heart, chicken soup for the soul...

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So perhaps this is not a new phenomenon, but maybe a craving to re-invigorate of our love affair with food.? Have we somehow taken all the pleasure out of food through legislation, rational communication and constant debates and warnings about the negative impact of food on our health?? How will our Chicken Soup for the Soul recipe turn out?

Source: http://www.directionfirst.com/ourthinking/blog1.php/recipe-for-chicken-soup-for

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