The sentiment echoed in all facets of consumer food and beverage research at the moment is “we want healthier, more natural foods and we’re willing to pay more for them”. This has been observed in the extensive research TH?NK has conducted across the F&B space and in research conducted by other consumer research agencies. Nielsen’s 2015 Global Health and Wellness Survey polled 30,000 consumers and found that 88% of them were willing to pay more for healthier foods.
Consumers have become highly informed about food choices, partially due to increasing ingredient and processing transparency requirements. This has led to increasing doubt around health claims. A consumer ideal that we have consistently observed is the desire to see food cooked from raw ingredients in front of the consumer. Meeting this demand results in higher wage costs, production costs, longer waiting times for consumers and higher product price-points and is not always perceived as feasible.
McDonalds have been the king of fast food for more than half a century, and might be the last company one would expect to lead the market in slowing down the fast-food process. However, as I flew out of the new Melbourne Airport Terminal 4 last week, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that McDonalds have done their research and redesigned their store to meet the demands of this health conscious market. After ordering the new café style breakfast (pictured below) and a coffee – for which I paid twice as much as a McMuffin meal, I watched the cook create my breakfast from raw ingredients as 20 other customers ordered and received their classic menu breakfasts. Despite the longer wait time and higher price-point, I was still happier to receive my healthier breakfast at the end of this process than I would have been to receive the classic menu alternative in a fraction of the time.
As I ate my breakfast, I casually observed my fellow customers interact with this new offering and wasn’t surprised to see approximately one third of them opting for the new gourmet alternative. This product line is currently in the trial process, so only time will tell how lucrative this endeavour will be for McDonalds. However, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to discover that this will be the offering to help McDonalds maintain their relevance and acquire a market currently migrating away from traditional fast foods.
If you would like to know more about how you can keep ahead of the curve in consumer F&B demands, explore offering options, discover consumer sentiments and analyse the costs and benefits associated with F&B line modifications, introductions or expansions, talk to TH?NK Global Research, the experts in FMCG research.
Written by Teigane Mackay
