Ingredients for the perfect food: flavor, quality and affordability

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Why we asked about preferred foods: There are so many competing priorities when it comes to what we eat. Health, cost, easy, convenience. But how do customers think they prioritize those? A client wondered and so did we. 

What we found: We put the product first. Flavor, quality of ingredients and affordability are the top three, followed closely by health and nutrition factors. Then we get into ease of preparation, natural ingredients, and after that, there’s a pretty big fall-off before you get to things like functional benefits (see the related question earlier in this wave), previous experience with the brand, packaging, etc. Note that the functional foods were cited twice as often (still low at 15%) by younger folks than those 55 and older. 

There are certainly some differences. Notably, affordability ranks No. 2 for 18- to 34-year-olds. Quality of ingredients way outpaces as the top factor for the 55 and older community at 61% (vs. 50% for overall No. 1, flavor).

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

Fewer Americans want brands to remain neutral

Americans are here for healthy food additives

Americans aren’t buying the benefits of tariffs

Older Americans are working hardest on their health

The Ipsos Vibe Check: Here's how Americans feel about the government this week 

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?