Study Reveals Characteristics of Carb Conscious Consumers

[tamarian]

May 24th, 2005

Study Reveals Characteristics of Carb Conscious Consumers

In the face of a steady decline of the low-carb craze, the face of the so-called carb-conscious consumer is also changing, not only literally, but figuratively, as the importance of healthy and nutritional food now extends beyond its carbohydrate level, according to a special report from the Integras Restaurant Audit™. Integras is the advanced analytical services division of market research leader Claritas Inc.

"Offerings designed to appeal to a low-carbohydrate segment need to address the segment's focus on overall health/nutrition. This segment has a holistic, total-health perspective; their concerns are not limited to carbohydrates," stated an excerpt from the report, an 18-page document titled "Catering to the Carb-Conscious Consumer."

Respondents were categorized into two groups – carb-conscious and carb-neutral. Their dining out patterns were analyzed, as well as their attitudes regarding: health and nutrition, convenience, price and promotion, and variety and selection.

Vastly larger proportions of the carb conscious versus the carb neutral said they order differently if nutritional information on menu items is available and eat at fast food places that offer healthy menu choices.

Significantly fewer have gone to McDonald's within a 30-day period, and more have gone to family casual restaurants offering salads/other healthy alternatives, such as Applebee's, Chili's, Cracker Barrel, and Ruby Tuesday's.

Beyond the most commonly named motivators for restaurant choice, i.e., food, location, and value, the availability of healthy food items was among a second tier of reasons considered important by the carb conscious in their selection of a specific restaurant.

The Restaurant Audit is a survey of nearly 30,000 respondents that offers a sweeping range of information, collected at the household and individual levels, regarding behavior and attitudes toward eating away from home, as well as a complete battery of demographics.

For more information on the report, and how it can be purchased, contact Ramona Spencer at 312-583-5406 or by e-mail.

Editor's Insight: In the last year, some market researchers have claimed that the low carb diet is fading. This study sheds some light on the issue. The popularity of the low carb diets may have in fact decline; every trend peaks and levels off. But as others have claimed, the lifestyle appears here to stay.

This new study quantifies the extent to which low carb consumers differ in their consumption habits. This is an audience that no one in the foodservice industry can afford to ignore. 05-24-05 by Elliot Maras

http://www.amonline.com/article/article.jsp?id=13989&siteSection=1

[DebN2005]

May 24th, 2005
Editor's Insight: In the last year, some market researchers have claimed that the low carb diet is fading. This study sheds some light on the issue. The popularity of the low carb diets may have in fact decline; every trend peaks and levels off. But as others have claimed, the lifestyle appears here to stay.
http://www.amonline.com/article/article.jsp?id=13989&siteSection=1

Good article Wa'il thanks. The proof of the recognition of the low carb lifestyle comes in the growing number of low carb foods being put out by mainstream companies. Low Carb has caused enough of an impact in the industry to warrant such new food items as low carb: pasta, chocolates, peanutbutter cups, ice cream, etc. They *really* want our dollars back.

While I like the idea of having the options there for me I can't help but wonder how many people will fool themselves into thinking they can eat all they want of these types of food.

Rember the low-fat craze? People started gaining weight because psychologically it became OK to overeat again. Afterall it's low-fat was the reasoning.

So while these types of foods can be part of a healthy way of eating they shouldn't replace the things that we know to be superior choices on an everyday basis.

[Kagior]

The companies will truly NEVER get our dollars back. Being much more health conscious now, my dollars are spent on REAL FOOD, not quick junk. I buy much more produce than I used to, more variety in my meat choices, and lots of eggs, cream and butter. If the junk food companies truly want our dollars, they are going to have to rethink their strategies. Gone are the days when I would buy lots of chips, chocolate bars, pretzels, etc in quantity because I couldn't lose weight no matter what I did. So, I did whatever I wanted foodwise. That is all different now.

If they truly want our dollars, here is a new concept for them. Instead of rehashing all the crap we used to buy in quantity because you think that is what we, the consumer, want, how about coming up with some truly revolutionary food choices for the low carb consumers. Something different. Something healthy with no trans fats, sugar of any description, no chemicals which we healthy consumers are not likely to ingest. Come up with some healthy low carb choices that you can put in your vending machines and your corner stores and gas stations. Those are the places we are likely to spend our money if the choices are available.

Good luck poor little multinational companies. After years of buying your overpriced but convenient food and becoming fat, I am not willing to trust you anymore. I'd rather buy and eat real food.

[DebN2005]

Good luck poor little multinational companies. After years of buying your overpriced but convenient food and becoming fat, I am not willing to trust you anymore. I'd rather buy and eat real food.

Well said. Shall we start a petition to tell them? :) I wonder if the companies would even listen to suggestions because there are so many willing to eat junk food.

[Lisa N]

This article is promising in that at least some people are starting to get it. I admit I do buy a few low carb products, but I'm very picky about what I'll buy. I read labels and if the product has a partially hydrogenated or 'fractionated' oil anywhere in the ingredients list, back on the shelf it goes.
I simply refuse to pay high $$ for any product with unhealthy ingredients in it anymore, no matter how good it looks or how convenient it might be.

[tom sawyer]

My family tends to fit their characterizations to some degree, we eat out infrequently and buy a LOT of fresh food. The frig is always stuffed full, while the pantry is generally fairly bare. We eat relatively few LC versions of foods, the exception being ice cream and the occasional package of little candy bars.

I would take exception to their characterization of fast food. McDonalds and Wendy's both have very nice salads these days. And with their alternatives for fries, we are not as loath to take the kids once in awhile to eat and let them play in the hamster maze. And I will indulge in a Hardees LC burger (2/3lb, yeah baby!) once in awhile, even though it grates on my nerves when they ask me if I want fries with that.

My wife and I both take our lunch to work, generally leftovers from the night before. Our meals never fail to elicit comments from coworkers of how wonderful it looks. Funny how fresh food, cooked up with a little tender loving care, makes the processed ready-to-eat stuff look really bad. Today's ham and green beans, is going to make somebody's Hot Pocket look pretty pitiful.

[Groggy60]

My family is not low carb, but I do the shopping and I try to never buy food with HFCS or trans fats in them. That means I buy items like Breyer's All Natural Ice Cream and Presidents Choice cookies. Can you imagine, an Ice Cream actually made with cream, and cookies made with flour and sugar instead of 20 ingredients I don't know.

[DebPenny]

I'm one of those who will not buy the low-carb products. I stick to whole foods (vegetables and meat mostly) and I make my own dressings with olive oil and other natural ingredients. I even go so far as to make my own chorizo, which I love with eggs for breakfast, and mayonnaise, because then I know I can trust the ingredients (I also avoid vegetable oils such as safflower and canola).

I've been low-carbing for over three years now, I'm not thin, but I'm healthier than I've ever been in my life; I no longer have any of the 'risk factors' for diabetes, heart disease, etc., except for 'obesity.' And I truly believe it's because I'm eating a healthy low-carb diet.

[kmct10]

"While I like the idea of having the options there for me I can't help but wonder how many people will fool themselves into thinking they can eat all they want of these types of food."

While I totally admire those who can whole-food, I'm afraid I am not so motivated and noble, and I think we may make too much out of this subject. I will eat some LC "processed" food anyday over high-carb processed food. No matter how much I eat, I am still better off. Most people in America are now quite dependent on processed foods, for cultural reasons beyond just nutrition.

For this reason, I think LC processed food has one major benefit - it communicates to our dependent culture more directly than in any other way that LC is real and something they need to take seriously. If Keebler or Kraft takes LC seriously, then every junk-eating American is forced to deal with the subject where it hits them closest to home. The can't ignore it. They have no choice but to accept what mass-marketing provides for better or worse, in this case for better.

As for me, I think the "danger" of McDonalds is being very mistakenly overblown. This is still the disastrous "low-fat" dogma trying to force itself on the public. Don't buy into this lie. The only thing we need to avoid at McDonalds is the fries, pies, sugar and trans-fats, not the meat. The meat is fine, the salads over-priced and under-nutritious iceberg, but otherwise fine, too. The new "fruit" salad is a nice attempt, but still sugar-coated and an expensive way to buy an apple.

The anti-McDonalds people lump fries, pies, coke and burger together and say the burger is what is killing us. What a glaring untruth that is! We must not pander to this kind of continued mis-information of the public trust. The people behind this movement are only leading us further astray, in their badly mis-guided 1970's fervor, as if they haven't caused enough damage to the public already!

I say boycott the blind anti-McDonalds movement and put the pressure where it belongs - on the sugar and starch, not the meat, eggs and cheese. We need to actively oppose this ignorant movement.

[Angeline]

The only thing we need to avoid at McDonalds is the fries, pies, sugar and trans-fats, not the meat. The meat is fine, the salads over-priced and under-nutritious iceberg, but otherwise fine, too. The new "fruit" salad is a nice attempt, but still sugar-coated and an expensive way to buy an apple.


If all you want to eat is a burger meat patty, plain with nothing on it and a salad with no dressing on it, then you would be ok. Bored but ok. The minute they start "dressing up" these two items, they pile on the chemicals, preservatives, flavor enhancers, trans-fat, sugar and whatnot. Just check out the ingredient list of McDonald food sometime.

The problem with Macdonald and most fast food is that its factory made food. Factory made food is a large part of what is making people of our generation, one of the unhealthiest ever.

[deb34]

I'm just happy that my money is going into the pockets of those who produce the real food that i eat.

Beef, Dairy, Poultry farmers need as much support from consumers as possible. An interesting trend in my area is for urban consumers to buy direct from the individual producer. For example: last year my family and i split the cost of half a beef side (organic). The animal was raised and slaughtered by a farmer friend and then divided up among the purchasers.

It felt great to support a farmer in a direct way and in return we the consumers were completely aware of how our food was produced. The cost of the beef was cosiderably less than if bought at the grocery. We are still knee deep in wonderful delicious tender cuts of beef that everyone else is really jealous of. :D

Word of mouth has gotten around and more direct business has been directed to the farmer friend and he and his customers couldn't be happier!

Support your area farmers! Ask around to see if any would be interested to sell direct. Then talk it up among your friends and family to divide the cost of a purchase. Believe me, you won't ever regret it!


Deb

[Lessara]

I'm with you, Deb! Its awful how the farmers are losing farms yet the process food companies are growing as fast as our waists! I hope the meat industry and the dairy industry and all the fruit and vegetable industries are expanding, for the USA was known for its farms! Its truely sad and amazing all the candy and snacks that flood our stores.

This really stuck home when a local grocery shut down because it couldn't compete with Hannaford. They had fresh meat and produce from local farms and it was priced well but not as cheap as the food at Hannaford. Oh but the Quality was so much better and was terrific if you were low carbing for you got the best tasting meat and produce. Alas... not profitable...

[Angeline]

I'm with you, Deb! Its awful how the farmers are losing farms yet the process food companies are growing as fast as our waists! I hope the meat industry and the dairy industry and all the fruit and vegetable industries are expanding, for the USA was known for its farms! Its truely sad and amazing all the candy and snacks that flood our stores.

This really stuck home when a local grocery shut down because it couldn't compete with Hannaford. They had fresh meat and produce from local farms and it was priced well but not as cheap as the food at Hannaford. Oh but the Quality was so much better and was terrific if you were low carbing for you got the best tasting meat and produce. Alas... not profitable...


People always go for the cheap buck. All the meanwhile, corps are taking over our food supply and our manufactured goods are all being made in china. One day we will wake up and realize that our lifestyle has been irremediably impoverished because we are out of a job and can't buy decent fresh food. I'm sure we will look back and realize the few hundreds of dollar we saved by buying cheap wasn't such a good deal after all.

[Lisa N]

If all you want to eat is a burger meat patty, plain with nothing on it and a salad with no dressing on it, then you would be ok. Bored but ok. The minute they start "dressing up" these two items, they pile on the chemicals, preservatives, flavor enhancers, trans-fat, sugar and whatnot. Just check out the ingredient list of McDonald food sometime.

The problem with Macdonald and most fast food is that its factory made food. Factory made food is a large part of what is making people of our generation, one of the unhealthiest ever.

Angeline, even eaten plain, McDonald's food isn't chemical free. The burger seasoning has transfats in it and the grill grease isn't much better. The chicken for the salads also has chemicals added to it. As for iceburg lettuce...okay, you've now got something in your stomach to keep it from growling, but it's basically void of nutrition. :p

[Angeline]

I was just going memory but after checking the web site again I saw the following

Grill Seasonning: Salt, spice, hydrogenated vegetable oil (soybean, cottonseed).

So even the beef is suspect.

Not that I would ever eat at McDonalds anyway, no matter how desperate.

[carblight]

A link to where to find organic and/or non factory farmed meat, eggs and poultry in one's area. Put your Zip code in and it gives you a list of farmers and stores...

http://www.eatwellguide.org/

:wave:

[Galliard]

The survey focus is on restaurants -- which I think is great news. As far as I'm concerned, the grocery store contains 99% of what I need to eat well low-carb -- and does a decent job at it, too. But I'm to the point now where I rarely eat out because what I can get that's low-carb is of such poor quality and so overpriced compared to what I can do at home. Everybody raves about Ruby Tuesday's low-carb menu, but everytime I eat there I retain about five pounds in water weight. My theory is it's MSG on the steak, but who knows what weird stuff they add?

[Opolla]

I think low-carbers are making a difference, but slowly. I had been shopping at an organic shop for quite some time and had only recently walked into my local supermarket. I couldn't believe the changes. There are so many organic choices there now: pure organic, free range eggs, grass fed meat, bison, almond, macadamia, pecan, walnut butter (for those who don't eat peanuts), old cheddar made with raw milk, ground nut flour, sprouted grain, low carb bread, frozen organic blueberries, balkan no-sugar added yogurt, etc. To me, the increase in organic products is a direct result of low-carbing and the subsequent emphasis on eating good, healthy, whole foods. And, why can't we make our own ice cream? Desserts like organic blueberries with plain, organic yogurt? When I go to my favorite restaurant, they will give me sliced tomatoes and cooked green beans with butter or caesar salad with my meat (no gravy) instead of fries, because I do not eat at chains. I find small, family run restaurants that are flexible with their menus and eager to please their customers. If I say no msg, salt or sugar, I get no msg, salt or sugar. Supporting organic products is just one small step closer to shutting down huge multinational horror farms and supporting small, family run restaurants will take some of the profits from the chains and perhaps, someday make them more customer oriented. Obviously it's working if more shops carry organic products. And someday it will translate into cheaper prices for organic products. And maybe someday you can walk into Ruby Wednesday's and order a grass fed sirloin with no msg. The bottom line is the less we buy the packaged stuff, the less we will hopefully see of it and the less we frequent inflexible chain restaurants, the less we will hopefully see of them, and good riddance.
oh and btw, thanks for letting me rant and ramble