Survey measures impact of rising costs, stress, social media on food choices
Nearly 3 in 10 consumers who noticed higher food prices in 2023 said they made less healthy choices as a result, according to a new survey.
The International Food Information Council (IFIC) recently released its 2023 Food and Health Survey, polling consumers on the rising cost of food, stress and well-being and the influence of social media on food and nutrition decisions. The survey of 1,022 Americans was conducted April 3-10, according to a news release. Respondents were weighted by age, education, gender, race/ethnicity and region, according to the release.
The 80-page 18th edition of the annual survey is a comprehensive snapshot of the complex factors that shape American food and nutrition choices, Wendy Reinhardt Kapsak, president and CEO of IFIC, said in the release.
“As we navigate the shifting landscape of food production and consumption, this survey underscores the importance of balancing competing priorities and consumers’ desire for clear and accurate information that empowers them to make the best food and beverage decisions for themselves and their families," she said.
Inflation bites
The survey said 91% of respondents saw an increase in food and beverage prices over the past year, up from 83% who said the same thing in 2022. Further, 72% in this year’s survey noted a “major” increase in prices.
Among those people who said they observed increased food prices, 47% said they “always or often” cut back on nonessential food and beverage products.
Taste still reigns
Eighty-seven percent of consumers surveyed cited taste as a factor in their food purchase decisions, up from 80% in 2022.
The importance of price also increased in this survey, with 76% rating price as a factor in their food purchase decisions, up from 68% in 2022.
That result, according to the release, suggests that economic uncertainties and inflation could be exerting a stronger influence on consumers.
Feeling good or not
Consumers report a strong connection between mental and emotional well-being and their food choices, the survey said.
About three-quarters of Americans (74%) believed the foods and beverages they consume have a significant or moderate impact on their overall well-being, according to the survey.
On the other hand, 61% of consumers said their overall well-being has a significant or moderate impact on their food choices, the survey revealed.
Because of stress, 51% of Americans say they consumed less healthy food and beverages over the past six months compared to their typical consumption.
Most consumers surveyed indicated stress in their life, with 60% reported being somewhat or very stressed in 2023, a slight increase over 2022 (56%).
Generation Z and millennial respondents were more likely to report stress than their older counterparts, according to the survey.
Social media influencers
Social media has an impact on dietary habits of consumers, the survey said.
The survey showed 4 in 10 Americans (42%) said they have come across social media content about food and nutrition in the past year. Predictably, exposure to this content is inversely proportional with age, with Gen Z (71%) and millennials (58%) reporting the highest exposure, as compared to older generations, the survey said.
Two-thirds said they trust that information at least a little (46%) or a lot (21%), the survey found.
Facebook is the most popular social platform for food and nutrition content, cited as the source for 64% of respondents who reported seeing such content. But only 18% trust Facebook a lot, the survey reported.
Sixty percent of those who reported seeing food-related social media content said that it encouraged them to make at least somewhat healthier choices.
However, about two-thirds (68%) of consumers reported seeing a lot of conflicting information on social media about foods to eat or avoid — and 60% said that conflicting information makes them doubt their food choices, the survey said.
“Social media has morphed from a mere networking platform into a digital dining table, shaping our food choices, stirring culinary curiosity, and serving as a recipe for both clarity and confusion in our nutritional narratives,” Reinhardt Kapsak said in the release. “Social media discourse about food is not just a fad — it has grown into a de facto nutritionist for millions of Americans, influencing consumer attitudes and decisions, but with information that can vary in both its accuracy and impact."
Healthy choices
The survey found that when given the option of buying a hypothetical snack product labeled “healthy” versus an otherwise identical product without such a label, consumers chose the “healthy” option 55% to 16%.
Definitions of the term vary, the survey said, with 40% of respondents defining “healthy” as fresh, followed by low in sugar and a good source of protein, the survey said.
Millennials surveyed were most likely to believe that they had more concern about healthfulness and nutrition than other generations (65%, compared with 50% for Gen Z, 53% for Generation X and 50% for baby boomers).
Diet boom
More than half of those consumers surveyed said they followed specific dietary patterns.
Fifty-two percent reported they followed a specific eating pattern or diet at some point in the past year. High-protein diets, a new choice in this year’s survey, was the most popular response (18%), followed by mindful eating (17%).
“The findings of the survey suggest that image is an increasingly big motivator behind people’s eating patterns,” the release said.
The top three reasons people cited for those eating patterns all increased significantly in 2023 the survey said: 43% wanted to lose weight (up from 34% in 2022), 39% wanted to improve their physical appearance (up from 31%), and 39% wanted to feel better or have more energy (also up from 31%).
Less care for the climate
Fewer consumers in 2023 cited environmental sustainability as a driver of their food and beverage purchases (34% in 2023 versus 39% in 2022), the survey said. That trails far behind the other four decision-making factors, as it has every year of the survey — perhaps a reflection of the resurgence of other factors like price.
“While a similar number (35%) said that 'climate friendliness' impacted their choices about at least some of the foods they eat, 43% said it didn’t make much or any impact at all,” the survey said.
Millennials were the most likely to report such impacts (46%), followed by Gen Z (39%), Gen X (38%) and baby boomers (22%).
Among those who said climate friendliness impacted their choices about specific foods, meat and poultry topped the list (62% of those respondents), followed by fresh fruits and vegetables (55%) and dairy (50%).
When asked which factors they considered to be indicators of sustainability, 43% cited recyclable packaging, followed by reusable packaging (37%), packaging made from recycled materials (36%) and being labeled as locally grown (35%), the survey found.