Salad Bowl Branding Welcome! Salad Bowl Branding provides briefings on America's shifting specialty food markets, the changing tastes of consumers, demographic and industry trends and growth opportunities in the consumer packaged goods sector. Learn More about us.
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 US consumers are generally not confident in the safety of the food supply according to a new study published in the journal of Food Quality and Preference.
Despite numerous food safety messages, the rate of foodborne illness in the United States in on an alarming rise. The CDC estimates that about 50,000 Americans become ill each year from pathogens in the foods they eat. Further, almost 400,000 are hospitalized with 3,000 passing from the illness.
The new study involved testing the perceptions of consumers and their reactions to the numerous food safety messages being used by the government, the food industry and food educators.
The result was that consumers found food that was irradiated or genetically altered to be considered less safe. Foods that were local grown or harvested were considered more safe. So a boon to the local farmers’ market.
Natural and organic foods fared well in consumer perceptions as being safe, so long as proper food handling procedures were followed.
Surprisingly the study also revealed that consumers feel that they are immune to foodborne illnesses, thinking that they are less likely to become susceptible to illness than others.
For those companies and brands that tout the safety of their products, like B&W Watercress, for example, consumers are willing to spend an extra 12% on those food products.
The least trusted were the ethnic foods. Consumers felt that imported foods have the potential of being less safe than foods prepared in the US.
With this new insight, food marketers who work with imported brands should add phrases to their packaging or their websites to assuage this concern.
Read More: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Science-Nutrition/Study-sheds-light-on-consumer-food-safety-behaviors
 At Salad Bowl Branding we keep looking for the next food trend on the menu. While we see patterns emerging in the Mexican, Indian and Asian, there is a new flavor capturing America’s tastemakers, Moroccan.
As dining out for ethnic foods is slowly improving, we are noticing that food outlets who provide more exotic products and restaurants with more adventurous menus are showing strong growth, especially with young adults who have become the most adventurous in trying global cuisines.
This market often identify themselves as ‘cooking enthusiasts’ and are eager to experiment with new recipes, tastes and flavors – stirring the demand for what was once considered exotic specialty foods.
While this niche market may be small, they are also more affluent and are spending more on healthy foods both in the supermarket and in home meal preparation, which continues to be a strong economic trend.
According to a report in PR Newswire, “Young adults are driving the interest in ethnic foods in the USA and their adventurous eating is introducing foods from around the world to their family and friends”.
Even in a recovering economy, ethnic foods set a record at $2.2 billion in sales {see NASFT State of Industry Report}. While Indian and Asian foods continue their rapid growth, expect to see interest in the African and South American international foods category to grow as well.
Rich spiced sauces in Indian and Thai foods are winning consumers’ palates. Moroccan cuisine, which compliments this category nicely, is sure to be one of the hottest exotic culinary experiences in the coming months.
In the $75 billion-dollar specialty foods market, forecast to grow by 50% over the next decade while other food sectors remain relatively flat, an insightful new report has just been released. And for food and beverage companies, there’s A LOT to like about it.
Today’s Specialty Food Consumer 2008, developed by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) and Mintel International, cites that 56% of American consumers are currently purchasing specialty foods and beverages—offerings the report defines as “distinctive” in taste, such as premium and ethnic products.
With the average specialty foods consumer now spending $115.50 weekly (an 8% increase from 2006 figures) and allocating nearly 23% of their food dollars for specialty products, the findings illuminate a set of lucrative new trends, including:
Youth Segment Drives Demand
The report found that people between 18 and 34 are the most likely buyers of specialty foods. While head-of-household mothers are a prime target for food retailers (and are well represented in this age demographic), brand managers have long held the youth demographic of 18-24 as the “holy grail” of markets for building brand loyalty.
 Moreover, the youth market is especially primed to become “brand evangelists” who discuss new food preferences over the water cooler at work as well as through “online water coolers” like blogs, social networks and Twitter. This pays brands back in spades since this market can act as a veritable sales force.
Americans Want New Tastes… But Tradition Runs Deep
A key finding from respondents was that 86% of specialty foods consumers like to experiment with new recipes; yet 80% said that family food traditions are important to them (with nearly 25% of purchases being imported brands).
This is consistent with the key premise of Salad Bowl Branding that consumers who adopt the traits of American culture do not lose the ties to their heritages, but keep them very much alive through their foods. Moreover, both of these figures signal huge opportunities for brands that leverage innovation as well as those that honor tradition.
Home-based Foods Purchasing On the Upswing 
The report also cites that 6 out of 10 specialty food purchases by consumers are for “everyday meals at home.” Combine that with a weak economy pressing consumers to return to home-based food preparation that is 2/3 less costly than dining out–and we see consumers yearning for more variety that they can create at home.
And while respondents noted “taste and quality” have the most influence on their specialty foods purchases, consumers are no doubt also looking for competitively priced products, too.
So, what does this mean for YOUR brand’s packaging strategy?
In short, specialty foods have achieved mainstream status. No longer only bought by cultural and ethnic markets, specialty offerings are now purchased, adopted and anticipated by wide-spanning segments. In fact, according to Agri-Food, 75% of the sales generated by ethnic foods already come from mainstream customers.
 What these new set of statistics prove is just how vast the opportunities are—in nearly every cultural origin and at nearly every price point—with innovative and traditional food offerings alike. And when we couple these figures with the explosive growth in America’s populations, we find that there’s never been a stronger time for specialty foods and beverages companies to make their mark.
Yet in the average supermarket, housing between 40,000 and 50,000 brands, packaging is your single best shot at grabbing this market’s hearts, minds and market share. But branding doesn’t take luck, it takes a thoughtful strategy.
People don’t stop eating during a recession. Instead, they adjust what they eat and where they have their meals. As a N.Y. branding and packaging agency that specializes in tracking trends in food purchasing preferences, it is quite visible to us here at Arcanna.
 Home-based dining and food preparation is on an upswing, which can bode well for supermarkets and other food retailers. It also has encouraging implications for makers of specialty foods, as people look to substitute the dining variety they would get from eating at ethnic restaurants with experimenting with new foods at home.
When it comes to food preferences, the U.S. isn’t a melting pot and hasn’t been for years. Instead, it’s more like a salad bowl of diverse ethnicities, with ingredients that get tossed together but retain their individuality, influencing everything else.
The growing immigrant population has put new flavors and products on the map, from yellow rice to Wasabi Peas to San Marzano Tomatoes.  The mainstream American population, already familiar with concepts like Tex-Mex and Pan-Asian, have been eager to try them, to the extent that ethnic and specialty foods now account for one out of every seven grocery dollars, and 73 percent of consumers reported purchasing specialty foods in 2007, compared to 64 percent in 2006.
Despite price hikes in retail foods, the grocery store is still less expensive than eating in a restaurant. Food marketers have helped to fuel the upswing in specialty food sales by getting recipes out via food magazines and on packaging, with ideas for using leftovers and how to increase serving sizes, as well as more creative ways to use packaged products with different seasonings and spices.
 Even lower-end convenience stores are using specialty foods to entice more food purchases and bring more profits. C-store chains are catering to local palates, with items ranging from carnitas pita sandwiches to beef and green chili burritos and sugar cinnamon twist pastries.
The Piscataway, N.J.-based makers of Buenos Dias, a line of imported bakery products, recently adjusted its packaging and positioning to appeal to the Spanish market but found that a majority of its sales were from mainstream consumers seeking authentic Spanish products.
Foodtown, a Woodbridge, N.J.-based chain of supermarkets in New Jersey, New York and Long Island, has been increasing its sales in basic staple commodity items such as cheese, pasta, eggs, coffee and peanut butter, not only because of price increases but because consumers are cooking more at home – as much as a 35% increase in home cooking.
Private brand sales have increased and will continue to grow as consumers seek better cost value in their food purchase. “The trend toward organic, prepared and natural products has slowed as shoppers become more price sensitive,” said Foodtown Vice President of Center Stores Gus Lebiak.
As interest in and acceptance of ethnic foods by mainstream America will continue, we expect tough economic times will accelerate this trend.
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