Convenience Is Tops Among Consumers of On-the-Go Foods: Study

NEW YORK -- Busy Americans prioritize for convenience over all other factors -- even healthfulness, price, and taste -- when they buy on-the-go food, according to a new report from Packaged Facts, a division of Market Research here.

The study, “On-The-Go Eating in the U.S.: Consumer, Foodservice, Retailing & Marketing Trends,” reports that although 65 percent of consumers say they try to eat healthier, 33 percent admit that they don't have time to prepare or eat healthy meals.

Ever-longer commutes and work days and time demands caused 49 million Americans to choose fast food, and 41 million to pick up store-made, pre-cooked meals last fall, according to the study.

Furthermore, busy lifestyles, media reports about the health and weight-loss benefits of eating frequent small meals, and smaller-portioned convenient meals from the foodservice industry are driving one-third of Americans to regularly skip meals and nibble on snack foods instead.

"Restaurant food already comprises a sizable percentage of Americans' diets, and one out of every 10 people already buys food at a convenience store in a two-week period," said Packaged Facts publisher Tatjana Meerman. "Foodservice sectors are seeking to increase their shares of this growing market by adapting to changing consumer attitudes toward meal times, meal sizes, and health issues, in order to make their products more convenient, healthier, and otherwise appealing."

The report explores the increasing competition between restaurants and food retailers, spotlights and analyzes shifting product trends, and identifies opportunities and strategies that foodservice providers, retailers, and packaged goods marketers can employ to protect and grow their share of this exploding market. The report is available from Packaged Facts by visiting

http://www.packagedfacts.com/Go-Eating-1421833
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