Thirty percent of Americans admit to buying healthy foods just because they’re trendy, according to new research.
A survey of 2,000 adults looked at their food shopping practices and found that 65% consider their grocery shopping habits to be at least somewhat healthy.
Compared to other priorities, however, health (18%) came in fourth, outranked by cost (64%), quality (36%) and personal and household preferences (19%).
Conducted by Talker Research for Zeal Creamery, the survey found that 82% still opt for products that use health-washing terms on labels intended to convey health benefits of products such as multifat (33% ), sugar-free (30%) and organic (27%). ).
Among these terms, others that respondents see positively are tall (31%) and free (30%).
Above all, the top grocery category that Americans would be willing to splurge on is organic (25%).
While Americans are most confident in their understanding of organic (65%), sugar-free (65%) and multifat (64%), they are certainly less confident when it comes to reduced (23%) , enriched with (22%). and light products (21%).
With all the different health buzzwords out there, nearly a third of respondents feel overwhelmed by their food labels while shopping (31%).
For many, this leads to misinformation, such as the belief that fresh produce is always healthier than canned, frozen or dried options (38%) and that all processed foods are bad (25%).
Similarly, a fifth of respondents mistakenly believe that alternatives to dairy milk such as soya milk or almond milk are always healthier (21%), while one in eight has the impression that the dairy products are grown unsustainably.
The survey results reflect the reality that Americans may be exposed to exaggerated claims about the impact of dairy products on the environment compared to the positive impacts that regenerative and pastoral agriculture has on the environment.” , says Jason Henshaw, president of Zeal Creamery.The upside is that there’s a great opportunity for people to learn about dairy sustainability, grass-fed regenerative agriculture, and how to incorporate that into their choices.
Sustainability is an important factor for one in six respondents when buying groceries.
However, few respondents were aware that products such as rice (7%), soy (8%), mineral water (8%) and almond milk (10%) are harmful to the environment .
And almost a fifth consider the impact of dairy industries on greenhouse gas emissions to be negative (18%), while most were unsure or did not believe it had much of an effect (52%).
The average American thought the global dairy industry contributed about 12% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, three times more than the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports . Similarly, the US Environmental Protection Agency found that dairy cows contribute only 1.3% of US greenhouse gas emissions.
Henshaw notes that a quarter of respondents were surprised (25%) and a fifth were interested (21%) by this revelation, saying: Many Americans enjoy dairy and want to feel good about their food choices.
TRADE ITEMS AMERICANS WOULD SPEND MORE MONEY
- Organic products 25%
- High content (eg vitamins, calcium, etc.) 24%
- Sugar Free 21%
- Reduced products (eg reduced fat, reduced sugar, etc.) 20% [TIED]
- free range 20% [TIED]
- Multifat 20%
- Enriched with (eg vitamins, minerals, etc.) 19%
- Organic dairy 16%
- Light products (eg light salad dressing, light salt, etc.) 16%
- 12% pasture
Survey methodology:
This random double-choice survey of 2,000 Americans in the general population was commissioned by Zeal Creamery between April 11 and 15, 2024. It was conducted by a market research firm. Search for speakersteam members are members of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the European Society for Marketing Opinion and Research (DREAM).
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