Are Frozen Foods Getting the Cold Shoulder from Consumers? PSBRESEARCH.COM
In recent years, frozen food sales in the US have declined. Total sales in the United States dropped 5% from 2008 to 2013 from $8.48 billion to $8.04 billion in 2013¹. In the most recent PSB Pulse Poll, we explore perception of frozen foods and find out what frozen food consumers look like and why consumers might be turning away from the convenience of frozen foods. While you might think frequent consumers of frozen foods have low standards of quality and health, we have found the opposite to be true. Heavy consumers of frozen foods are more health conscious than those who do not regularly consume frozen foods and they are generally more discerning about the products they consume. We divided the respondents up into 2 groups based on frequency of frozen food consumption: 1. Frozen Foodies: Consumers who eat a variety of frozen foods multiple times a week 2. Frozen Rejecters: Consumers who rarely or never eat frozen food Frozen Foodies engage in healthier habits across the board.
Frozen foodies are more than twice as likely to say they very carefully watch what they eat than Rejecters They are also significantly more likely to read ingredient labels before purchasing food and are more concerned about eating foods with ingredients they do not recognize then Rejecters Foodies are nearly 20% more likely to purchase organic foods and more than 4x more likely to purchase organic personal care and cleaning products, than Rejecters Foodies are also more likely to regularly shop at farmers markets and are more likely to shop at stores such as Whole Food and Trader Joe’s You are more likely to find a Foodie in the gym than a Rejecter. Foodies are more likely to exercise at least 3x per week (66%) than Rejecters (45%) - they are also more likely to have a gym membership They are also more likely to say they are “in great shape” and “in very good health” than Rejecters While very few say they wear an activity tracker such as a FitBit, Foodies are the most likely to wear one
Frozen food enthusiasts are even more conscious of the environment. They are significantly more likely to:
Recycle Bring reusable bags to the grocery store Compost
30% of Frozen Foodies say they eat more frozen food than they did 3 years ago. Does this mean that Frozen Foodies are a new type of frozen food consumer? We’ll be sure to continue to track this group to see how they move in relation to the frozen food market.
¹Mintel 1 © 2014 PENN SCHOEN AND BERLAND ASSOCIATES LLC.
Key Data Q: How carefully do you watch what you eat? (Showing Very Carefully)
31
13
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
Q: How often do you read the ingredients on the label before purchasing food?
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
Always or almost always
54
40
Sometimes
36
39
Rarely
8
14
Never
2
7
Q: Which of the following do you purchase regularly? Please select all that apply.
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
Organic food
43
24
Organic cleaning products
26
6
Organic personal care products
20
6
Š 2014 PENN SCHOEN AND BERLAND ASSOCIATES LLC.
2
47
None of these
73
Q: How often do you shop at a local farmer’s market? How often do you shop at a chain store such as Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s? (Showing weekly or monthly)
59
57
36
Frozen Rejecters
20
Farmer's Market
Frozen Foodies
Whole Foods/Trader Joe's
Q: How often do you exercise?
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
3 or more times per week
66
45
1-2 times a week
18
25
A few times a month
7
10
I don't exercise
10
19
Q: Do you consider yourself…?
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
In great shape
13
4
In good shape
60
60
Not in good shape
23
32
In very bad shape
5
4
© 2014 PENN SCHOEN AND BERLAND ASSOCIATES LLC.
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Q: Do you consider yourself generally to be…?
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
In very good health
20
10
In good health
65
70
Not in very good health
13
18
In very bad health
2
1
Q: Do you regularly wear an activity tracker such as a Fitbit?
Frozen Foodies
Frozen Rejecters
Yes
9
4
No
91
96
Q: Do you…?
91 82 65 48
Frozen Foodies Frozen Rejecters
24 11
Recycle (Sometimes + Use reusable bags Always) (Sometimes + Always)
Compost (Yes)
Q: What is the main reason you purchase less frozen food than you used to?
© 2014 PENN SCHOEN AND BERLAND ASSOCIATES LLC.
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I don't like the taste of frozen foods 12%
Other 10%
It is too expensive 32%
I don't think frozen food is as healthy as fresh food 28% It is just as easy to make fresh food quickly 18%
I don't think frozen food is as healthy as fresh food It is just as easy to make fresh food quickly It is too expensive I don't like the taste of frozen foods Other
About the PSB Pulse Poll: This study was fielded July 7-8, 2014. N=800 interviews with US general population consumers. Margin of error is ±3.46 overall and larger for subgroups. The PSB Pulse Poll is fielded monthly and covers business issues ranging from business news to public policy issues affecting business to new product categories and business trends. If you have a question or topic you’d like to explore, please contact us at PSBPulse@ps-b.com to learn more. About Penn Schoen Berland: Penn Schoen Berland (PSB), a member of Young & Rubicam Group and the WPP Group, is a global research-based consultancy that specialises in messaging and communications strategy for blue-chip political, corporate and entertainment clients. PSB’s operations include over 200 consultants and a sophisticated in-house market research infrastructure with the capability to conduct work in over 90 countries. The company operates offices in Washington, D.C., New York, London, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dubai, Delhi, Miami, The Dominican Republic and Denver. More at www.psbresearch.com. For further information, please contact: Jessica Mailloux Penn Schoen Berland Tel: 202-962-3055 Email: jmailloux@ps-b.com www.psbresearch.com
© 2014 PENN SCHOEN AND BERLAND ASSOCIATES LLC.
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