Consumers source food from a wide range of outlets

Chicago / IL. (tni) Consumers are sourcing their food across an increasingly broad range of retail and food-service outlets, according to a new report by Technomic. The «2010 Restaurants + Retail Report: Segmenting the Food + Beverage Consumer» provides an unprecedented snapshot of Americans´ restaurant and food shopping patterns.

Retailers continue to move into the restaurant sphere even as restaurant companies extend their brands with retail product offerings. Many retailers are using the restaurant sector as a blueprint for innovation as they seek to keep value-conscious consumers coming through the doors.

«Restaurants consistently provide consumers with foods that respond to their changing preferences and ideas of value. Locally sourced ingredients, organic and additive-free foods, and humanely sourced menu offerings have been growth areas», says Darren Tristano, EVP at Technomic. «In a down economy, retailers gained a larger share of the food-service market, but in order to keep that as the economic picture improves, they need to respond to consumers as effectively as restaurants have».

Technomic´s 2010 Restaurants + Retail Report: Segmenting the Food + Beverage Consumer will help manufacturers, food retailers, restaurant operators and others aligned with the food and beverage industry better understand the changing landscape and identify areas for future growth. Findings include:

• 18- to 34-year-olds are most likely, by a wide margin, to be heavy users of premium fast food. This could have significant implications for future competition between retailers and limited-service restaurants, particularly in the fast-casual segment.
• Heavy users of warehouse clubs, speciality/natural food stores and up-scale supermarkets tend to source food from many types of retailers and restaurants.
• Men are more likely than women to be heavy food shoppers at convenience stores and warehouse clubs.

The «2010 Restaurants + Retail Report» utilizes an exclusive Technomic survey of 2’000 U.S. consumers who were asked to report their usage and attitudes regarding restaurants and food retailers. The report also uncovers and analyzes current trends identified by Technomic´s Retailer Meal Solutions (RMS) Monitor service and Digital Resource Library.