"FOOD 2020: THE FUTURE OF FOOD, NUTRITION & WELLNESS

	Contact Us
	Print Page / Issue
	E-mail Issue
	View Past Issues Getting Your Message to Your Audience 2008 Issue 4 How the Public Perceives Corporations and CEOs 2008 Issue 3 The Women's Issue 2008 Issue 2 Media Myths & Realities 2007 2008 Issue 1 Next Stages 2007 Issue 4 Word of Mouth 2007 Issue 3 Engaging Employees 2007 Issue 2 Assessing the Top Crises of 2006 2007 Issue 1 Media Myths & Realities 2006 2006 Issue 7 2006: A Watershed Election 2006 Issue 6 China and Public Relations 2006 Issue 5 The Talent Issue 2006 Issue 4 Preparing For A Pandemic 2006 Issue 3 To Blog Or Not To Blog 2006 Issue 2 Looking Ahead in Media Communications 2006 Issue 1 Building Brand Believers Through Communication 2005 Issue 1 Unlocking Corporate Communications 2004 Issue 2 Lessons Learned... 2004 Issue 1 The Changing Face of Marketing 2003 Issue 2 The First 100 Days of 2003 2003 Issue 1 Focusing on Innovation 2002 Issue 2 Inaugural Issue 2002 Issue 1

Viewpoints

	Argentina: The Power of Love by Gustavo Averbuj		Germany: Consumers Want Price, Taste—and Knowledge by Petra Völkl
	United Kingdom: Results in Sync with Search for Wholesome Foods by Daisy Pack		China: Melamine Crisis Hastened Consumers’ 2020 Demands by Hannah Carter
..
..

United States: Remember Enjoyment By Ilene Smith Senior Vice President and Associate Director, Global Food & Nutrition Practice, Ketchum New York View Bio

In the U.S., we focus so much on fat, cholesterol and other things in our food that it was enlightening to see how important “enjoyment” was to the survey respondents. As in every country except China, U.S. consumers ranked “enjoyment” as top of mind when they think of food.

Enjoyment isn’t just about enjoying taste; it’s the whole pleasure of eating food. U.S. consumers also were the only ones to rank “culinary adventure” among the top five considerations—suggesting a thrill in trying new dishes or experiencing food in new surroundings. 

Perhaps even more interesting was that while health claims on foods are more common in the U.S. than some of the other countries surveyed, “key to good health” was only fourth among consumers’ top five considerations. For food marketers and communicators, this indicates that messages about enjoyment may trump those about health.

As a dietitian, I certainly believe consumers need to choose more healthful foods. But I also realize that if people don’t enjoy the foods they eat, they won’t make a lasting change for healthier options. Some things marketers might do to connect their messages to a feeling of enjoyment include portraying people in enjoyable settings, avoiding language that makes people feel guilty, and conveying and sharing an experience through food.

But playing up these things should in no way lead to leaving other important messages out. In fact, the survey findings indicate that consumers want to know much more about their foods than they currently do. One other survey finding was that 67 percent of U.S. consumers want to be able to recognize all of the ingredients on a food label. Behind that finding, I believe, is the fact that the Nutrition Facts panel on foods in the U.S. was introduced 15 years ago but people still don’t understand it.

Food companies really need to focus on cleaning up their labels, and a No. 1 priority should be making them simpler. Once consumers completely understand what they’re eating, they just might enjoy it more.