Market analysis expert Datamonitor’s
new report, ‘Debits & Credits – Balancing Indulgence & Healthy Eating’,
finds that the conflicting forces of appearance anxiety, weight concerns and the
need to find release from hectic lifestyles are prompting consumers to try and
balance their eating habits. Many consumers try to follow a ‘debits and credits’
system whereby one session of ‘being good’, such as going to the gym,
earns an indulgence such as premium ice cream and vice versa. Appearance and diet
is increasingly becoming an issue for men as well as women.
Food sales figures reflect British consumers polarising eating habits, with sales
of indulgent foods increasing alongside those of low and light and products. (see
table below) More people are working and are therefore under pressure to juggle
the needs of their social, professional and domestic lives. There is greater need
to escape and unwind, if only as a temporary ‘pick me up’, with indulgent
food often being viewed as the perfect treat. Increasing disposable income has
driven the consumption of non-essential luxury items; meaning that consumers have
been more inclined to trade up from regular to premium food items.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Guilt free indulgence:
having your cake and eating it too
Consumers have also become more weight and health conscious, however, they are
not content to have foods that contain less fat; it must taste good too. As
consumers become harder to please, food manufacturers are producing foods that
offer the dual benefits of being indulgent yet healthy. “Guilt-free indulgence”
foods have become popular by offering the prospect of indulging and ‘getting
away with it’.
Innovations in ingredients
that replace fat and sugar have been responsible for quality improvements in
low and light foods. Furthermore, they have also enabled more manufacturers
to develop new low and light products.
‘Healthy’ and
indulgent product sales increasing
UK food markets and segment
sales (US$m), 1995-1999
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By GlobalData| US$m |
Segment |
1995
|
1999
|
CAGR
1995-1999 |
| Bakery |
Low and light |
446
|
552
|
5.5%
|
| Indulgence |
721
|
844
|
4.0%
|
|
| Other |
2,236
|
2,68
|
14.6%
|
|
| Overall |
3,403
|
4,077
|
4.6%
|
|
| Dairy | Low and light |
599
|
778
|
6.7%
|
| Indulgence |
469
|
544
|
3.8%
|
|
| Other |
2,100
|
2,449
|
3.9%
|
|
| Overall |
3,170
|
3,772
|
4.4%
|
|
| Confectionery | Low and light |
129
|
145
|
2.8%
|
| Indulgence |
1,605
|
1,827
|
3.3%
|
|
| Other |
5,460
|
6,110
|
2.9%
|
|
| Overall |
7,195
|
8,083
|
3.0%
|
|
| Snacks | Low and light |
384
|
480
|
5.7%
|
| Indulgence |
524
|
634
|
4.9%
|
|
| Other |
1,628
|
2,287
|
8.9%
|
|
| Overall |
2,536
|
3,401
|
7.6%
|
|
| Overall | Overall |
16,306
|
19,334
|
4.4%
|
| Source: Datamonitor |
CAGR
= compound annual growth rate |
Consumers feel in control
with debits & credits
“While consumers have always been prepared to eat healthily and indulge,
the difference now is that more people are incorporating both habits consciously
into their diets. Eating by a system of ‘debits and credits’ means
that periods of fun and indulgence are made up for with discipline and health.
For example, eating salad for lunch can for many consumers justify an indulgent
dessert after dinner. As more people are looking to control their diets rather
than be controlled by them, deliberately following a debits and credits approach
has become more popular,” comments Dominik Nosalik, Datamonitor analyst.
Cont…
Compromise versus control
Datamonitor has identified two types of consumer behaviour: those who control
their food intake and those who react to it. “Compromise consumers”
indulge for comfort and relief and eat healthily to eradicate guilty feelings
about indulging. “Control consumers” plan their healthy eating and
indulge as an earned reward.
The Visual Society
Consumers are becoming more anxious about appearance as a result of increased
exposure to media images. A visual society naturally places greater emphasis
on factors such as appearance, and the proliferation of young, body-beautiful
people in the media have created an image of the standard that people increasingly
compare themselves to and judge others by. At the same time, the media has also
been increasingly interested in, and promoted, healthy lifestyles. Consequently,
consumers are now more weight conscious and many are seeking low fat and low
calorie foods to help them achieve their objectives in this area.
Men are just as concerned
as women about appearance
To date low and light products have mostly been aimed at females. However, anxiety
about appearance is increasingly an issue for males. Men’s lifestyle magazines
have experienced strong growth and heavily promote grooming and appearance issues,
fitness and losing weight. In the UK men’s magazines circulation has risen
by more than 700% over the last five years to 1999. Growth has also been experienced
in the number of men visiting clinics for cosmetic surgery in the UK. Five years
ago men accounted for just 5% of patients, now this figure is closer to 40%.
Males are therefore be prime targets for manufacturers and retailers, as more
men seek to achieve their desired weight and body shape.
Consumers opt for better
health as opposed to dieting
Consumer health awareness has grown over the last 30 years, driven by a stream
of government research and recommendations. With increased health knowledge
consumers can be expected to be interested in controlling their weight and staying
in better overall health as opposed to slimming and dieting.
As the two trends of the
need to be healthy and the desire to indulge influence consumers more strongly,
‘debits and credits’ consumption will become more pronounced.
