How food companies can meet diners’ needs everywhere
Ipsos’ Anne Hunter explains how food manufacturers can maximize sales in every environment by understanding the distinct needs of consumers and professional food buyers.
As Americans spend $3.9 billion for food they eat outside of home — including at schools, the workplaces and restaurants — food manufacturers need to sell the benefits of their products not just to consumers, but also to the establishments that feed them. Knowing the needs of each category of buyer is critical to making sales. And what consumers want and what institutions require are not always the same.
Consumers, especially parents, often say they are looking for healthy, flavorful meals at an affordable cost. And the entities that feed them away from home must keep this top of mind when purchasing ingredients to delight their customers. But additional factors such as ease of preparation are less important to professional chefs and food service buyers than they are to grocery shoppers. Food service purveyors often have to meet diverse consumer demands, plus focus on bulk sizing, mass storage and delivery, things that don’t concern consumers.
To maximize sales in every environment, food manufacturers need to separate research with consumers (B2C) and professional buyers (B2B), with distinctive messaging and research approaches. Since chefs often set consumer trends, understanding this influential group can give food companies a peek at the flavors and ingredients consumers will be clamoring for in the future.
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