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Consumer Research Highlights
America’s Love of Peanuts and Peanut Butter By: Ryan Lepicier
The National Peanut Board (NPB) regularly reviews the attitudes, perceptions and consumer habits of peanut consumption, motivations for snack food selection, nut preference, and peanut and peanut butter associations. The most recent study, conducted by the Bantam Group in November 2021, shows peanut and peanut butter consumption are on the rise. This is especially true among millennials, who report eating peanuts/peanut butter more frequently than the general market and significantly more frequently compared to 2015. The same is true for alternative types of peanut butter like all-natural and organic. Top snack food selection criteria for both the general market and millennials are taste, hunger satiation and affordability. However, millennials are more likely to agree that a snack that is easy to eat on the go is a top snack food selection criterion. The top reasons for this include: • Peanuts continue to be highly rated for their taste, being easy-to-eat on-the-go, convenience and affordability. Peanut butter has a more favorable view among the general market and is highly rated for its taste, affordability and as a convenient snack/meal among the general market and millennials. • From a nutritional standpoint, both peanuts and peanut butter continue to be viewed as a good natural food, a source of protein, part of a well-balanced diet and a good source of nutrients. • Peanuts and peanut butter are also believed to be delicious and fun to eat; peanuts have a stronger association with fitting one’s lifestyle; peanut butter is associated with making people feel good when they eat it. • Among those surveyed, 80% of adults 18+ have purchased or consumed peanuts, peanut butter or a peanut product in the prior month. In the households consuming peanuts and/or peanut butter:
Peanut butter and peanuts continued to lead the way as the most consumed nut/nut products among general market and millennial respondents (with millennials indexing higher for eating peanut candy, peanut oil and peanut powder).
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The largest increases in consumption habits were among peanut candy, peanut oil and peanut powder.
Everyday consumption of peanut and peanut products is highest among millennial respondents. In fact, a larger percentage of millennials report consuming all nut products more frequently than the older age bands.
