I have just been reading some reports on consumer behaviour which I thought I’d share.

This pandemic has had several side-effects on how we as consumers behave.

First and not surprisingly, it has heightened our focus on health. 9 in 10 of us said we’re taking precautions to protect our health as a result of COVID-19.  Naturally the majority of us include hand-washing, social distancing and other infection-control related steps within these precautions.

What I have found really interesting is  ¼ (24%)* of us said we were buying healthier food in lockdown and 70% *are proactively trying to lead a healthier lifestyle.  That figure is up by 8% from 2018. The poll group for this survey was 5,000 people.  Having personally made changes during lockdown I count myself within these groups.

These statistics are by no means insignificant, one quarter of us buying differently and nearly three quarters trying to lead healthier lifestyles.  Clearly these stats will have implications on eating out.  Whilst there are times for comfort and carbs clearly at the moment the focus needs to be on health.  So, whilst you and your caterers and chefs may be looking to change your menus in line with the Autumn/Winter season you should be including plenty of healthy options too.

This will have a positive influence on both income and profitability.  Increase the amount of seasonal fruit and veg, increase wholegrains pulses and legumes and reduce meat and dairy portion sizes and perhaps overall reduce the portion/plate size.  This will further allow you to create greater value and reduced tariffs for consumers.  With many households experiencing a much reduced income this makes for Win win for customer and business owner.

*Stats provided by CGA’s BrandTrack survey of 5,000 British adults in June and UKHospitality Future Shock, Road to recovery report