The latest Consumer Insights study from Empathy Research has found that just over one in five (22%) Irish adults suffer from food allergies or food restrictions which they must take into consideration when grocery shopping.
Almost one in four of the 1,011 surveyed (24%) have someone in their household with restrictions that have to be taken into account when shopping.
The study found that 68% of the respondents with allergies or restrictions reported noticing the ‘free from’ aisles in their supermarkets increasing in size. This was significantly higher among female (78%) than male (52%) respondents.
However, only 52% of those with dietary restrictions feel well served by their supermarkets. On top of that, nearly half (45%) of the same group either ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’ that there are affordable ranges available for people who can’t eat dairy or gluten.
The research also examined people’s attitudes to supermarkets stocking ranges for religious or cultural diets such as kosher, halal or vegan. One in three (33%) support the need for supermarkets to provide for such diets, with younger demographics more in favour of this.
The majority of 18-24 year olds (68%) and 40% of 25-24 year olds either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that supermarkets should cater towards more cultural and religious diets, compared with 33% of 35-44 year olds, 20% of 45-54 year olds and 23% of those over 55.
Click here for more information from Empathy Research.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan
