Constructive transformation of lifestyle
When the outer world goes haywire, we seek safety within. With the initial panic phase behind us, shoppers now move from the “day-to-day”-mode to the “day-after-tomorrow”-perspective. Cautious optimism makes shoppers “remember” their most important lifestyle aspirations, ranging from taking care of their personal health and financial situation, to the “small” household chores and general living conditions, and the “big” challenge of planetary health.
Asked about lifestyle changes shoppers are already into or would like to implement, decluttering their households ranks first (77%), followed by daily exercise (75%), and the zero-waste-challenge (74%). Work less and live more (72%) is also popular on the list of aspirations, as well as going without alcohol (70%). In general, we observe a strong inclination toward improving peace of mind and health, to make space for “me-moments”.
According to shoppers, where can manufacturers and retailers contribute the most?The key opportunities to resonate with shopper aspirations are first and foremost the zero-waste-challenge, with work-life-balance in second place, and sugar-free products ranking third.
When it comes to shoppers’ stance towards meat, there has been a slowdown of the flexitarian and vegan trends. At the same time, the notion of a planetary health diet is gaining traction – a more holistic approach to dietary impact, both ecologically and on one’s personal health, is growing.
Protein continues to be a big trend, with 16% of value growth, for example in Germany, compared to six percent for vegan food. However, after the hype, when trends mature, we can observe a natural shift taking place: consolidated growth, where the trend is a natural match, and a decline in categories, that do not fit. For example, dairy products are a natural match with protein, and protein bars are healthier than chocolate, and both product categories are easy to integrate in daily habits. They fit with the product use. On the other hand, e.g. protein and bread are not a natural combination, nor does the notion of healthy protein match with ice cream, regarded as a treat.
Highlighting the protein trend brings us back to meat. As mentioned before, meat is one of the categories that shoppers will buy more of or upgrade their assortment – if budget and price perceptions relax. Moreover, the number of households consciously avoiding meat for health and environmental reasons remains static. To some extent, this relates to the growing sense that there are no good or healthy alternatives to meat. Public opinion on meat alternatives is now tilting towards the negative side: 59% consider them as not healthy, though Gen Z is a bit more positive. “Lab-meat” – simply spoken, cultured from cells in a laboratory – might offer a viable alternative. Even though lab-meat is not yet available on the market, 15% of shoppers say they would integrate it into their consumption habits.
For the near future, two major lifestyle developments strike us as worth highlighting: nutrition positivity and planetary health.
Taking a closer look at the aspect of health, we can see that nutrition is playing a more important role, in the form of nutrition positivity. Shoppers expect a new framing, providing them with practical help to better understand the value of nutrition and make an informed decision, such as the Nutri-score: Two-thirds of Europeans say they find the system helpful.
Shoppers want to know more about ingredients such as salt, sugar, and fat, whether products have been genetically modified, and where they originate from (regionality). Products are expected to “be really high in” protein, probiotics, omega fats, etc., providing a positive boost – or “completely without” e.g. sugar, ensuring no negative impact on the personal health.
Preventative self-care is also gaining a more “medical” expert angle, as evidenced by the growing prevalence of nutraceuticals. Though at this point, only seven percent of shoppers are convinced enough to state they will for sure integrate nutraceuticals in their routines, but a further 13% would try it out of curiosity, and another 23% see it as an easy way to take care of the personal health.
When it comes to diet plans, we observe a shift from a singular focus, e.g. no white flour or no sugar, to a broader approach. By means of example, intermittent fasting is having a relatively strong appeal, with 47% stating they already do or would like to follow this diet.
Nutraceuticals are defined as nourishing food components that provide the body with medical or health benefits, including the prevention and treatment of diseases. Some popular nutraceuticals include ginseng, echinacea, green tea, glucosamine, omega-3, lutein, folic acid, and cod liver oil.
Analyzing the lifestyle aspirations with regards to planetary health, we see the discourse on eco-active behaviors shifting from “avoiding meat” to a positive nutrition change, the planetary health diet. This is a new idea which explores how individuals can change their total consumption patterns in a way that is at the same time positive for the personal health and also has much less impact on the environment. At the moment, this is most positively viewed by shoppers in Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Croatia, and Romania. Especially in Germany, which can be regarded as Europe’s greenest market, when it comes to shopper behavior and the number of eco-actives, retailers have already jumped at this new idea, offering respective information and recipes.
More intriguing than the underlying concept of a planetary health diet, is the fact that the younger generation has already adopted this idea and is changing their behavior accordingly. Admittedly, there is still a huge gap between aspiration and reality, but looking at a small period of time – from 2017 to 2023 –, we can already see a considerable change in younger shoppers’ behavior. Gen Z, for example, increased their consumption of vegetables, pulses, fruit, and unsaturated fats, while cutting down on dairy products – as much as six percent – and meat. On the contrary, older generations showed hardly any movement in what they bought during the same period. This indicates how young shoppers have a different way of looking at food, and we can expect this change in the shopping basket – with potentially different staples – to continue over the coming years.
Source: CPS GfK - Consumer Panel NL MAT Q2 2023 , hak.com
While we can find numerous examples of born-sustainably brands or niche brands, when mastering the successful conversion to sustainability, mainstream brands often struggle to make a true transition that is acknowledged by the market. HAK is an example of a mainstream brand that successfully transformed to an eco- and nutrition-positive positioning.
HAK was founded more than 70 years ago, and over recent years has grown from a traditional preserved vegetables producer in the Benelux region, into a brand business in plant-based food across Northwest Europe. The company’s successful transition is demonstrated by market acceptance and purchase results: above-average growth among eco-actives and the 3rd most-acknowledged food brand for doing a good job in protecting the environment (*). The mission of HAK: Make it easier for people to eat tasty vegetables and pulses, with natural, good-quality products, and products that are produced locally, as far as possible, prepared with minimal negative impact on the environment. The success also relates to the fact that the products are a natural match to the trend of a healthy lifestyle – as described above –, serving both the personal health and the health of the planet.
(*) Source: Study “Who cares, who does”, The Netherlands, 2023
In general – and this is not a surprise – stimulations to make lifestyle changes are more successful if driven by personal benefits: good for my health –and the planet.
However, to really understand the behavior changes of different groups of shoppers, it is important to decode the varying starting points for their respective thinking about health and sustainability. For sure, we are moving into the direction of positive nutrition and planetary health diet, but the intrinsic motivation of how to go about it, varies.
For younger generations, the topics of sustainability and health have always been around, ever since they started shopping groceries. For them, sustainability and health are part of their baseline behavior, and they stick to it. Only now and then, are they cheating, going over the top – big time.
Older generations often feel guilty about actions before sustainability became a mainstream topic. In an effort to balance earlier actions, they are trying to compensate here and there – no radical changes, but little actions; similarly, their lifestyle changes in the context of health: step-by-step. Following this pattern, they allow themselves only small moments of joy – no radical ventures.
As this phase of the cost-of-living crisis can be marked by basic comfort, these differences (cheat vs. balance) should be kept in mind.
In a nutshell, the lifestyle changes of nutrition positivity and planetary health could be characterized as “constructive transformation” – realistic changes, in a positive sense, one step at a time.
