Top 10 Trends to Watch and Work on: 2003

摘要

Americans have a new recipe for home cooking―fast, fresh, and just heat and eat! Armed with a new set of food product criteria and experienced in restaurant fare, Americans are marching back into the kitchen. In 2002,71% of meal preparers said they made last night's meal at home―an increase of 7% in just one year―and one-third used convenience foods, up 8%. Conversely, fewer people said they ate at a restaurant or brought take-out food home (MSI, 2003a). Consumer restaurant spending in 2002 grew only 2% over 2001, the lowest rate ever recorded by The NPD Group foodservice industry tracking firm (NPD, 2003a). The restaurant industry ended 2002 with two quarters of traffic declines, the first back-to-back drop since the spring of 1982. The last noticeable increase in restaurant units came in 1999, when units climbed 5%. Take-out appears to have stalled―demand was limited in 2002 by weakness in some of the major quick-service restaurant (QSR) concepts and certain full-service independent categories, such as casual dining and Asian. Within the off-premises business, drive-thru traffic drove the segment (NPD, 2003a). Restaurant visits from consumers age 25-49 years―which accounted for nearly half of all restaurant visits last year―declined.