Powell1_CRFN_Spring_2017_FINAL.pdf
IPSOS INSIGHTS
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2017-02-13
3:54 PM
UNPLANNED
Over 70 Years of Naturally Innovative Ingredients
DINNER IN A
MODERN SOCIETY HOW DINNER IS CHANGING TO SUIT TODAY’S HECTIC LIFESTYLES
BY KATHY PERROTTA
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Today’s modern eating culture is fraught with a vast array of options, with around-the-clock access enabling consumers to make more autonomous choices that meet highly personal preferences and needs. What do I feel like? Do I feel like cooking at home, or should I go out? Should I pick something up or get it delivered?
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The enormity of choice, unprecedented access and increased comfort with spontaneous decision-making has evolved our eating culture to the point where we give little deliberation or forethought to what we are going to eat. This impulsive behaviour is apparent when investigating shifting eating habits and practices at dinner. The time investment in meal management is diminishing, as is an overall commitment to a weekly dinner plan. Increasingly, decisions about what to eat are made in the moment, reacting to a craving or on a whim. More than half of all decisions (54 per cent) about what to eat for dinner are ‘day of’ verdicts, while an additional 14 per cent of decisions are made within an hour of the actual occasion. Ipsos’ 2016 Canada CHATS Food and Beverage Trends Report investigates how today’s dinner planning behaviours, preparation habits and time investment stands in stark contrast to yesteryear’s traditional ways of engaging with food.
76 Spring 2017 | Canadian Restaurant & Foodservice News
Back then, creation and execution of the weekly meal plan was the sole responsibility of one household member, typically Mom. Meals and snacks were most often sourced from well-stocked refrigerators, freezers and pantries that were emptied by week’s end, leading to the next major weekly grocery shop. Going to restaurants was often a treat or special event that was also written into the plan, but was definitely not part of the meal routine. Fast forward to 2016. Today’s hectic schedules and shifting priorities, commuter culture and two working parents often renders a weekly meal routine too difficult and inefficient to execute. In today’s modern eating culture, dinner-on-demand is in demand. Some other realities of our modern dinner culture include the following: • Convenience tops the list of needs driving choice at dinner, trumping taste and health