The top 5 trends driving consumer food purchases

Today’s complex foodscape is saturated with information surrounding health, wellness, nutrition, sustainability, and ingredients, creating a complex path to purchase. Ardent Mills’ Trend to Table™ helps cut through the noise with research findings that bring you five trends motivating consumer purchases, and it breaks down the insights into practical ways to help you create the foods people want.

The information in Trend to Table™ came from a recent large-scale, quantitative study that Ardent Mills conducted of more than 10,000 consumers. It provided a nationally representative sample of consumers ages 18+, primary or shared decision makers for food sourcing both at- and away-from-home—with an underlying focus on grain-based foods.

We combined those findings with industry market data and macro-societal trends for a comprehensive look at the foods that consumers love, why they love them, what they can’t live without—and what information they need to help make their decisions. Here’s a quick preview of the five trends we cover:

1. Ingredients matter — Consumers are often making their food decisions with ingredients as the primary decision-making factor. In fact, nearly all (85%) of the consumers surveyed report that ingredients play a role in their food selections. And more than half (58%) of consumers agree that they are willing to pay more for foods that use whole and/or less-processed ingredients.
   
    
2. Heritage is hero — While consumers agree their choices are influenced by the dishes they grew up with, those enduring flavors also inspire a desire for culinary exploration. Grains, pulses and flours can really play into those cultural traditions and curiosities that so many consumers have.
   
    
3. Adding with intent — It sounds simple, but it’s true: consumers just want to feel good about their food choices by adding nutritional elements and favorable taste to their selections. Seeking foods that add to and boost wellness goals is a top priority for consumers who are more focused on mindful dietary decisions, with restrictive practices taking a backseat. And grains offer multiple benefits to dishes that these consumers are interested in.
   
    
4. Desire to do good — Consumers want to support foods that align with their sustainability goals, but it isn’t always easy. Confusion surrounding sustainability and regenerative agriculture creates a disconnect for higher product pricing. There’s a gap between what they want to support and their willingness to make those purchases—in fact, 57% want more information about how their food purchases positively impact the planet.
   
    
5. Indulge me — Great taste has moved from expectation to requirement. Nearly three-quarters (68%) of consumers indicate that regular indulgent moments are important to their dietary/eating goals and priorities, whether it’s connecting to nostalgia, celebrating a special event, or just working small moments of joy into their days. From sweet foods to savory dishes, consumers are confidently indulging in their daily lives — and grains have a huge presence on the plate.

Read Trend to Table™