SugarCreek: Brandworthy Food Solutions

Grocery shoppers have been gradually changing their habits as more and more people become concerned with the sustainability of their food choices. For many years, "organic" was the go-to designation, with "natural" winning people's food dollars, as well. But, as people consider different aspects of where their food comes, "local" and "seasonal" are starting to gain traction.

Americans have always loved their snacks. Every day, 28 million people will buy at least one snack food, but grocery shoppers aren’t indiscriminant in their purchases. There are a few factors driving the trend toward these smaller, more convenient meals.

Mouthfeel is a critical part of the food experience — especially when it comes to low-fat meats or meat substitutes. But how do you convey the superior mouthfeel of your product via its packaging or in a marketing campaign?

By definition, mouthfeel is a sensory experience. So, to convey the experience, you need to use words and images that evoke that experience. That is, of course, easier said than done.

When you think about appetizing food attributes, what words come to mind?

The crispness of a water chestnut. The juicy firmness of a blanched carrot. The chewiness of a piece of turkey jerky. The tenderness of a well-prepared filet mignon.

What texture words seem negative to you, off the cuff? Slimy? Viscous? Stale? Tough?

And what of taste? The savory taste of a garlic-buttered crouton. The spicy taste of barbecued pork. How about the mild sweetness of a vine-ripened tomato?

Take away the savory taste of that crouton and you're left with stale bread. Take the sweetness out of the tomato and you're left with something slimy rolling around on your tongue. The point?

Texture and taste work in tandem to produce mouthfeel — the organoleptic (or, overall sensory) experience a consumer receives when he or she samples a food. They are interdependent, and food brands need to consider them equally when developing new products.

Consumers want to eat and still accomplish everything in their increasingly busy days. We've talked a lot on this blog about how grocery shoppers these days demand foods that are both healthy and grab-and-go.

Preserving "good" nutrition while simultaneously increasing shelf life and portability presents a real challenge to food producers. And now that the FDA is banning trans-fats, food producers no longer have the option of trading one off for the other. The industry must find more and better ways of meeting consumers' demands for healthy, single-serve foods.

What will grocery shoppers be buying 10 years from now? It's a vexing question for food producers and marketers alike.

New food products take months, or even years, to develop. It's extraordinarily difficult to anticipate, that far out, not only what consumer preferences will be, but also what laws, agricultural production factors and market conditions will prevail.

Of course, that doesn't prevent industry experts from trying. And Technomic has done just that, in its recently published report, “Food Industry Transformation: The Next Decade,” which seeks to predict what grocery shoppers' preferences (and the market's responses to them) will be in 2025.

Are you noticing a shift in the demographics of grocery shoppers? The NPD Group has. According to the market research firm, Latinos are one of the fastest-growing consumer demographics in the United States, and they're beginning to influence overall shopping trends more than they ever have. Nielsen reports that the buying power of US-dwelling Hispanic consumers now tops $1 trillion.

So, how can grocery store owners and food producers reach them? Are there ways to segment your marketing directly toward Latino shoppers? Let's take a look.

"Latino" customer does not equal "Spanish-speaking" customer.

Nor is it considered, by many in the Hispanic community, to be an ethnicity. Rather, it's a descriptor of origin. Many people who identify as Latinos/Latinas were born in the United States and speak English as a first language. The word "Latino/Latina" is thus used only as a signifier of culture.

There’s even disagreement about terminology among members of the Hispanic/Latino community. Some prefer the term "Hispanic" (especially in Texas), whereas others prefer the term "Latino/Latina." Regardless, the community is robust, diverse, vibrant and eager for merchants to engage them.

An increasing number of consumers are turning to vegetarian alternatives for popular foods. Vegetarian and vegan-friendly meat substitutes can now be found alongside their traditional counterparts in mainstream grocery aisles.

From tofu breakfast scrambles to seitan nuggets, there are a wide variety of plant-based proteins out there on the market, and food companies aren't just marketing them toward vegetarian customers.

But what makes a plant-based protein appealing to the mainstream consumer? Shoppers have a long list of expectations when it comes to the taste and texture of meat alternatives. A meat substitute needs to have a comparable mouthfeel to the product it is emulating. It has to be well-seasoned, flavorful and juicy. And, it has to be either ready-to-eat or easy to prepare.

When consumers think about grab-and-go deli offerings, many think about potato salads drenched in mayonnaise or processed lunch meats packed with nitrites—hardly a healthy prospect. Leading the reversal of this trend is Whole Foods with its popular self-serve salad bar and grab-and-go prepared meals. As grocery shoppers continue to vote with their wallets and demand healthier food options, grocery chains are under increased pressure to innovate or risk losing out.

The good news is that when it comes to creating healthier deli options, there’s no need to completely reinvent the wheel. You can turn a traditional turkey and cheese sandwich with a side of potato salad into a non-GMO turkey and Swiss on rustic bread with an heirloom bean salad, for example, and you’ve nailed both shoppers' desires for healthier options and the trend towards locally-sourced, artisan food.

Ever wondered why some foods just feel so satisfying to eat? Imagine biting into a decadent, rich slice of chocolate cake, a bag of crunchy, salty potato chips, or a plump, explode-in-your-mouth heirloom tomato fresh from the farmer’s market. These foods don’t just taste good; they feel good. This feeling—a magical combination of taste, texture, aroma, sound and even the chewing experience itself—is called “mouthfeel,” and creating foods that deliver optimal “mouthfeel” is one of the hottest trends in the food industry.

If you’ve ever been wine tasting before, you may already be familiar with the concept of mouthfeel. In wine tasting, it’s that astringent, puckering sensation you experience after drinking a highly tannic wine. But mouthfeel counts in more than just wine. The term quite literally refers to how a food feels when it’s inside your mouth, and whether a food produces a good or bad mouthfeel influences whether consumers like this product.