Eating

NEW YORK, December 6, 2021 — The future of food and eating is being changed by six factors that will shape how food growers to retailers will market and sell their products. The big question is whether and how these changes will stick. Ipsos examines all of this and imagines our eating future in its latest issue of What the Future magazine. Download the Eating issue.

To provide context, Ipsos asked experts in synthetic biology, quick-service restaurants, grocery, and supply chain and logistics how these shifts will shape how people grow, buy, eat and supply food in the future:

• J. Casey Lippmeier, vice president of innovation, Conagen — Will we grow food in the future?
• Kevin Vasconi, chief information officer, The Wendy’s Company — How will delivery drive food convenience in the future?
• Nichele Lindstrom, vice president of e-commerce, Whole Foods Market — How will the hybridization of grocery shopping evolve?
• Marina Mayer, editor-in-chief, Food Logistics and Supply & Demand Chain Executive — What’s keeping us from making our food supply chain better?

In addition, Ipsos researchers share insights for brands and marketers based on these shifts. They include: How food brands can better link synthetic biology for purpose, what diners’ new delivery habits will mean for restaurants, what the new “eating at home” means for grocers and restaurants, and what grocers can learn about keeping relevant amid supply chain uncertainty.

Below are research highlights, as well as a topline of the custom Ipsos survey results for this issue:

• 59% of Americans prefer to food shop in-store than online if both presented zero risk for COVID-19. Another 24% of Americans would shop for food in-store and online equally, and 17% would prefer to shop online. The preference for in-store shopping increases with age (77% for those ages 55+ compared to 41% of those ages 18-34), while younger consumers prefer to shop online (27% for those ages 18-34 compared to 8% for those ages 55+).
• 49% of Americans are interested in plant- and vegetable-protein-based meat substitutes. Across age groups, 12% have tried these meat substitutes and people ages 18-34 are twice as likely to be interested in trying them (51%) as those ages 55 and older (23%).
• 69% of Americans are willing to order from a virtual restaurant if they are already familiar with the brand. 56% would be willing to order from a virtual restaurant if it was a brand that hadn’t had a physical location before.
• 75% of Americans are very or somewhat comfortable with restaurant of food service apps knowing their preferences based on previous purchases to get faster and more customized service. 48% are comfortable sharing their customer information by face or voice recognition. 46% are comfortable with restaurant or food service apps knowing the location data on their mobile device.
• 83% of Americans who prefer to food shop online would be willing to order from a virtual grocery store restaurant, while 49% of people who prefer to food shop in-store would be.
• 56% of people prioritize available foods when grocery shopping while 44% prioritize locally grown foods. 73% of people prioritize locally grown foods while 27% of people prioritize off-season produce grown elsewhere. 54% of people prioritize health considerations while 46% of people say price is more important.

Topline Findings

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between October 22-25, 2021. For this survey, a sample of 1,171 adults age 18+ from the continental U.S., Alaska, and Hawaii was interviewed online in English. The poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points for all respondents.

For full results, please refer to the following annotated questionnaire: