Traditional comfort foods are getting the boot as consumers continue to grow more health-conscious.
New research has revealed that consumers are growing more interested in comfort foods, but the definition of comfort food may be evolving. A national consumer survey on Pinterest has revealed that consumers are moving away from traditional comfort foods in favor of meals that are healthy, locally sourced and easy to prepare.
The research also shows that Americans (68%), and especially parents (74%), are more concerned about what goes into the food they’re feeding their families compared to previous generations.
According to the national survey, commissioned by leading West Coast poultry producer, Foster Farms, 73% of consumers have changed their opinions about the food they feel good about eating. 81% of consumers care more about the quality of ingredients, 83% choose healthier recipes, 81% eat more fruits and vegetables and 63% seek more meat and poultry raised without hormones and antibiotics. 83% of Americans said that chicken is a staple for comfort food meals with half of respondents eating less red meat. These shifts reveal that today’s comfort food cuisine features fresh and premium quality ingredients, including antibiotic-free and organic poultry and can be cooked quickly at home.
On Aug. 22, Foster Farms hosted a panel of experts in San Francisco to explore factors that have contributed to the emergence of the new comfort food trend. Panelists included Dean Rucker, chef, James Beard Award-nominated cookbook author and Food Network “Chopped” champion and Dr. Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist and best-selling author, who were provided survey results and Pinterest insights.
“The comfort food of yesterday is not as relevant to today’s consumers,” said Rucker. “Today’s home chefs want their meals to taste good, but they also want to use ingredients they feel good about. Their priorities are high quality ingredients and time.”
“Social media have informed, liberated and inspired consumers,” said Yarrow. “Today’s new comfort food is about variety, impact and high quality ingredients rather than simply taste indulgence.”
Pinterest insights confirm that comfort food is a hot topic online and that consumers prefer a more health-conscious incarnation:
- Over the last year, people saved nearly 50,000 comfort food ideas every day to more than 14 million boards, a 140% increase from the previous year.
- “Veggies” is the most popular word accompanying comfort food Pins.
- Chicken is the most popular protein on Pinterest, as consumers are increasingly focused on leaner meats. In the last year, 35 million people saved 566 million chicken ideas on Pinterest, a 32% increase from the previous year, and more than eggs, peanut butter and beef combined.
- Traditional comfort foods are on the decline, including lasagna (down 69%), macaroni (down 55%) and stroganoff (down 50%) over the last year.
“We have seen that as a new generation of home cooks evolves, specifically millennial parents, ingredient preferences are more informed and carefully defined,” said Ira Brill, director of communications for Foster Farms. “Chicken is a staple ingredient, and today’s consumer wants that chicken to be antibiotic-free or organic. It is what they feel best about serving their families. We have seen continued demand for these select products as a result.”
In addition to being highly selective about comfort food ingredients, the survey identified unique cooking habits of millennials:
- 50% of millennials seek inspiration for recipes from social media, compared to 34% of older generations
- 24% look for online video recipes, compared to 15% of Gen Xers
- 41% share food they cook on social media at least a few times a week, compared to 24% of non-millennials
- 61% rely on recipes, compared to 54% of non-millennials
- 77% of millennials try new recipes at least once a month, compared to 65% of non-millennials
This month, Foster Farms debuts its New Comfort Food integrated marketing and advertising campaign dedicated to fresh, simple meals inspired by real home chefs. The campaign features Foster Farms’ Simply Raised chicken products, which are locally grown and raised with no antibiotics ever. The campaign includes TV and digital advertising, blogger partnerships, social media promotions and new recipes available at www.fosterfarms.com/recipes/the-new-comfort-food.