Galloping gourmet

The opposing consumer trends of wanting to eat healthier foods and seeking new, different, and often indulgent food and beverage products are driving growth in the $41.2 billion specialty and gourmet foods industry.

This dichotomy is hammered home by two separate new studies on the gourmet and specialty food and beverage markets by market research publishers Packaged Facts and Mintel.

Nearly one-fifth of American adults consider themselves "gourmet consumers," according to The U.S. Market for Gourmet Foods and Beverages, compiled by Packaged Facts, which predicts the market for gourmet foods will exceed $62 billion by 2009.

Meanwhile the Mintel study attributes much of this growth to Americans' willingness to experiment with different cuisines, products, and ingredients. In addition, the growing immigrant population in the United States has piqued the curiosity and taste buds of mainstream consumers, who are also exposed to new food techniques, flavors, and ideas through the media, their own expanded travels, and friends and relations who have traveled abroad.

"Even among mainstream products that are as diverse as chocolate, ice cream, bread, and milk, there's increasingly a two-tier market—one that most consumers buy for 'everyday' usage and another, higher-priced set of products," says the Mintel report. And then there are the products bought for special occasions, gifts, lifestyle commitment (such as paying more for organic products), or simply indulgence. This shopping behavior of seeking both special and everyday indulgences creates many opportunities for the specialty food industry, according to the report, and is something grocery retailers can exploit as well.

Although specialty foods are increasingly cropping up in many types of retail environments, including florists, department stores, and airport duty-free shops, as well as on the Internet, they're primarily sold in specialty food stores, supermarkets, and natural food stores. It makes sense, then, that consumers who buy specialty foods are far more likely to shop at specialty food stores than consumers who don't buy specialty foods. However, according to a Mintel study of 1,500 adults, 96 percent of specialty food purchasers shop at supermarkets, so the opportunity to encourage them to buy a higher number of gourmet products or prepared meals is significant for grocery store operators.

With consumers being more time-pressed than ever, one way this growing appetite for gourmet foods is being satisfied is with prepared foods, both fully prepared dishes that shoppers can take home from grocery stores and prepared ingredients that can help them put a meal together quickly at home.

What will it take for grocers to fully capitalize on these trends? A recent report by PG sister publication The Gourmet Retailer says that today's smart deli manager must be a combination dietitian and gourmet chef. American consumers possess an ever-expanding knowledge of ethnic foods and flavors, and expect to see them in their favorite prepared food cases, reports TGR. Besides ethnic food trends, the retailer must also be cognizant of the latest consumer concerns regarding food allergies, vegetarianism, fat, sugar, cholesterol, and whatever's being touted as the "superfood" of the moment.

Healthy foods

Another published report from Packaged Facts, On-the-Go Eating: Consumer Mindsets, Menu Trends, and Product/Packaging Innovations, says that U.S. consumers are clamoring for healthy foods requiring little or no preparation and that can be taken along to fit busy lifestyles.

More than one retailer understands that the growth of gourmet foods is tied to Americans' interest in healthier consumption. Whole Foods Market, the Austin, Texas-based leader in the retail natural food sector, released its own study late last year, which said nearly two-thirds of Americans have tried organic foods and beverages in 2005, an increase from the 54 percent of consumers who said they sampled those foods in both the 2003 and 2004 surveys. Ten percent of Americans consumed organic foods several times per week, up from just 7 percent last year, according to the 2005 Whole Foods Market Organic Trend Tracker.

Americans are buying organic foods and beverages for a variety of reasons, according to the study. The top three are avoidance of pesticides (70.3 percent), freshness (68.3 percent), and health and nutrition (67.1 percent). More than half (55 percent) buy organics to avoid genetically modified foods. Also, over half agree that organic foods and beverages are better for their health (52.8 percent) and the environment (52.4 percent).

Clearly, busy, time-pressed consumers with sophisticated tastes are looking for healthy ready-to-eat or easy-to-prepare foods that taste great. If supermarkets don't step up to the plate to deliver, other retailers will.