Amy Bond, Assistant Librarian and Information Specialist, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
Consumers around the world are becoming increasingly preoccupied with their own image. In fact, image consciousness is one of GlobalData’s key trendsights for 2019 (GlobalData, 2019). They report that 78% of global consumers admit that their looks/appearance in general are important or very important to them. They see a number of factors as driving this trend. The growing prominence of social media in consumers’ lives means that people feel they need to be always presentable for their online audience, and they are aspiring to unrealistic standards set by celebrity culture. There is also a clear correlation in consumers’ minds between looking good and being successful.
There are a number of ways that this trend is relevant for the food and drink industry. GlobalData also state that 56% of consumers, rising to 61% for women, are very or extremely concerned about the impact of diet and health upon appearance (GlobalData, 2019). This accounts for some part of the rise of health foods generally, as well as the growth of products with a specific beauty claim, as reported in a previous FoodAlert article (Bond, 2016).
However, as well as wanting food that supports their own beauty aspirations, consumers also want products that are beautiful in and of themselves, that they would be proud to share online. This ties in with Mintel’s exploration of food as fashion (Mintel, 2019). They note that 29% of 16-34 year olds in the UK would pay a premium for attractive packaging.
As fashion brands capitalise on the trend, with Fendi popsicles and Armani chocolate, food brands need to stake their claim as the producers of the most beautiful and covetable products. The food industry can also learn from the fashion industry by trying to emulate their speed to market in keeping up with trends, how they create a feeling of exclusivity and their understanding of the importance of appearance. The two thirds of US consumers and 49% of UK consumers who identify as foodies (Mintel, 2019), will always be interested in food brands that can make them feel fashion forward.
Food and drink producers need to think about how they feed in to consumers’ image, both physical appearance and status, as consumers increasingly factor both into their food choices. And consideration also needs to be given to how your product looks as much as it tastes, as consumers increasingly eat with their eyes.
References
GlobalData (2019). TrendSights Analysis 2019: Image Consciousness. GlobalData.
Bond, A. (2016). Growing Opportunities in the ‘Beauty from Within’ Category. [online] Bord Bia. Available at: https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/manufacturers/insight/alerts/Pages/GrowingOpportunitiesintheBeautyfromWithinCategory.aspx [Accessed 3 Apr. 2019].
Mintel (2019). Creating Must-Have, Fashionable Food. Mintel.