Almost one in two (45%) adults will claim to regularly treat themselves after a long day despite high levels of food monitoring being undertaken by the population. Recent research on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,000 adults aged 18+, sought to understand in more detail how Irish adults mix the consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods on such a regular basis.
Consumers are conscious of trying to eat healthily, with 84% claiming to monitor the foods they eat, although they do admit to sometimes letting this slip from time to time. These slips are more likely to happen at the end of the day or as the weekend draws closer, with a high degree of treating/rewarding in evidence. When we look at the types of foods being chosen by consumers when they are looking for a treat, chocolate leads the way with almost seven in 10 (69%) adults claiming to eat chocolate weekly or more often, with biscuits (62%) baked goods/pastries (53%) and crisps (46%) also featuring prominently.
Indeed, it is this area of snacking where a large proportion of adults claim to come somewhat undone in their healthy food consumption. Almost four in 10 (39%) adults claim that the meals they eat tend to be healthy but that the snacks they consume tend to be the unhealthy part of their diet throughout the day.
However, not all snacks being consumed are to be placed in the unhealthy category, almost half (49%) of adults claim to eat nuts/seeds weekly or more often, with just under one in 7 (15%) eating rice cakes and one in 8 (12%) eating protein bars this frequently.
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumer’s food consumption and the role of treating & indulgence when it comes to our most preferred snacks, contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research. r[email protected]
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