200 days on, what’s changed?
14th December 2020
Grace Binchy, Insight & Trends Specialist, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
“It stares you in the face. No role is as well suited to philosophy as the one you happen to be in right now” Marcus Aurelius
200 days on, what’s changed?
On the 23rd of January Wuhan, a little known city to us in the West, despite having a population of over 9 million, went in to lock down because of a little known virus - the coronavirus. It seemed far away and certainly not something that would directly impact upon our lives in the West. Roll on 12th March and we in Ireland went into our own lock down. By 28th April half the world’s population were in some form of lock down.
And so saw disruption like we had never appreciated in our lifetime.
To truly start understanding the impact of this on our lives, we in the Thinking House in Bord Bia, designed a study that would allow us to start tracking behaviours and to start learning about what this mass interruption would mean for our lives including what we eat, what we drink and effectively the way we live. This study was launched across Western Europe markets and the US including Ireland, UK, France, Germany, Spain and the US amongst a nationally representative sample of 6000 people.
6 months on and there is no doubt that there have been some significant changes in terms of our relationship with food that are likely to create some sticky behaviours.
Let’s take a look below at where shielding, simply safer and risky business are at 200 days on in Ireland.
Shielding surges forward
As 6 in 10 of us feel the impact of Covid 19 is out of our control and with the lack of certainty that lies ahead for the foreseeable future, people are trying to take back control where they can. A looming recession fuels this lack of control. (Feeling the Pinch, Oct 2020)
And so health is one area where people feel they can take back control and is one area where see continued spend on. 44% of Irish adults are trying to improve their health in general and this is up 8% since May. In line with this there is a renewed focus on food and drink in order to feel in control.
Unsurprisingly therefore Shielding as an indicator continues to have staying power and is in growth across markets. We are seeing growing interest in supplements and people choosing foods for immunity is also showing growth across markets with 34% of Irish adults eating healthy for immunity now. This is + 5% since May.
There has also been a significant surge in exercising with 48% of Irish people taking walks and spending time outdoors, with people appreciating the benefits of exercise for their physical and mental wellbeing.
Mental health concerns have elevated across markets during Covid 19. 70% of Spaniards are very or extremely concerned about the impact of Covid-19 on peoples mental health. That figure is at 64% in Ireland which is also extremely high relative to other markets. Unsurprisingly, the countries that are showing the higher incidences of concern around mental health are the countries that are most concerned about their impending economic outlook and their health services ability to cope with Covid 19.
As we came out of the first wave of Covid 19, people have evolved their dietary habits. With many embracing a healthier lifestyle, there has been a decline in snacking outside of mealtimes and a reduction in the consumption of sweet treats. With 30% of Irish adults having more sweet treats since Covid 19, this is down 8% since May and when it comes to doing more snacking outside of regular mealtimes, this figure is at 23% but also down 12% .
Simply safer and Risky Business Stick
With growing concerns around our health we are embracing our personal safety in ways we could never have imagined. How we engage with the outside world has changed radically since Covid 19. We have embraced wearing masks with 86% of Irish adults wearing masks for protection and to prevent spread. This is plus 61% since May and while its now a requirement, this figure again is much higher here than other markets. While the UK are similar, in the US mask wearing has increased by 20% and has actually declined in Germany by 11%.
Leaving our homes after the first lockdown brought new challenges in terms of the perspectives and expectations we had from our surroundings. 36% of Irish adults are now choosing supermarkets more so on their safety than they did before. Over half of Western Europe are still minimizing their trips to shops despite the reduction of this behaviour since May. Again this figure is higher in Ireland with 64% of Irish adults minimizing their trips to the shops. 51% of Irish adults believe it’s more important now that the food and drink they buy is sealed and hasn’t been touched, this coincides with 3 in 10 of all adults wanting to avoid food on open displays.
The stickiness of these indicators is having a huge impact on retail strategies and with that we are seeing innovations in robotic retail and food service coming to the fore with robots being trialled in CO-OP in the UK around Northampton, stores like Walmart in the US adding 800 new app led designed stores in 2021 and even more locally we are seeing drones being used in the West of Ireland to delivery groceries, meals and medicine .
To learn about all of the indicators and what’s changed across markets and the implications for food and drinks businesses, please check out the source or log on to the website at
https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/covid-19/future-proofing/