Public turning to 'fresh' and 'natural' food, AHDB report says

AHDB looks at health through the eyes of the consumer

More Brits are choosing food for health reasons at meal times – with a growing trend towards ‘fresh’ and ‘natural’, according to a new report.

Enjoyment and practicality remain the key linchpin for the majority of meal choices but over the last year, health as a reason for choosing food has grown at a faster rate than both of these well-established motives and according to Kantar Worldpanel is up 14% on five years ago.

Findings also show consumers are satisfying their desire to eat healthily by preparing meals from scratch which suggests they want greater control over the ingredients.

These latest trends form part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s (AHDB) Consumer Insight report, ‘Health Through the Eyes of the Consumer’ – which was unveiled at the Nuffield International Conference in Nottingham.

It examines health from the consumer’s perspective and picks out the challenges and opportunities in meeting the needs of the modern consumer.

'Consumer landscape is changing'

AHDB senior analyst Steven Evans said the consumer landscape is changing and so are expectations.

“Health is incredibly important and, by the end of 2016, the proportion of food servings in the home chosen for health reasons stood at 32%. It’s an area which is growing at a faster rate than that of enjoyment so it’s certainly a trend to watch.

“It’s important to remember that health can mean different things to different people. One area more obvious than others is that it’s consumed for a focused health benefit such as being high in fibre or a good source of calcium.

“However, the strongest rise in the last 12 months came from those looking for more natural and less processed food, which we believe points to consumers wanting greater control over what’s going into their meals.

“This provides a good opportunity for producers of fresh and chilled products – especially those who can clearly communicate their health messaging to consumers.”

'Flexitarian'

The industry has recently become more familiar with the term ‘flexitarian’, which can have differing definitions associated – one of which is people who are eating less red meat for health reasons.

Currently, 7% of the British population count themselves as flexitarian, putting pressure on the red meat category.

However, the AHDB Consumer Tracker does point towards the majority of people eating about the same level of red meat (74%).

Mr Evans said: “Findings from AHDB’s Consumer Tracker point towards red meat standing behind chicken and fish in consumers’ stating it’s ‘good for you’.