Health- and time-consciousness gaining ground in food consumption

Fodor, Mónika – Fürediné Kovács, Annamária

Keywords: trends in food consumption, changing scale of values, health- and time-conscious consumer, change in the food trade

Food consumption as part of consumer behaviour cannot be separated from changing life-styles and a changing scale of values. We examine the impact of these changes on consumer behaviour and eating habits, as well as on the structure of the food trade. Consumer groups that prioritise humanitarian values demonstrate a tendency towards a more secure and healthy lifestyle and a greater demand for meaningful leisure-time activities. Some of the phenomena discernible in international markets have also appeared in Hungary and have induced changes in the structure of the food trade and its service range. This is demonstrated by the proliferation of stores with large shop floors and commercial models that provide home delivery of food and on-line shopping, as well as the appearance of organic shops and pharmacies able to cater to the demand for foodstuffs deemed healthy. Businesses in the food industry and food trade can gain a competitive advantage if they adapt their marketing to consumer trends connected to this changing scale of values and are able to utilise commercial models that fully serve the demands of the recently established health- and time-conscious segment, as well as offering a product portfolio able to meet these groups’ demands.