Over the past few years the economy has been shaky and that has had a influence in what people are eating and why they are eating certain foods. The economy and other trends have had people focusing both on high quality food but, as one might assume, price has become an increasingly large factor in purchasing decisions. The report, “What, When, and Where America Eats” by A. Elizabeth Sloan, was put out in the latest issue Food Technology and gives us an insight into why people are buying certain foods.

The number one motivator for eating particular foods is still taste (87%) and that will be something that we don’t see changing in the foreseeable future. However, affordability was a close second (79%) with nutrition falling to only 39% for why people eat what they eat. It should be noted that these stats do not tell the whole story since the numbers are vastly different when you compare what people are eating versus what people would like to be eating more of. People, obviously, do not want to be eating less healthy and, while the economy may be to blame for what we eat now, we are still seeing a surge in the number of people who want to buy local and organic foods. This is not much different than other years in recent history but what should be also a good sign for local bakeries is that the title “whole grain” is the number one thing people look for in packaging.

What this means for local bakeries and food manufacturers is to advertise where your products are being made, especially when they are made locally. Be sure to mention on the packaging or on signage that your products offer whole grains and when you use Bremer Ingredients you can feel free to mention our safety certifications. However, be careful labeling products as organic as it can be overlooked because people associate organic products with being more expensive even when they are not.