NEW YORK, Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Alexa…acquire
Whole Foods Market, please."
In a year when food topics related to safety and nutrition were
most important to Americans, news of Amazon's Acquisition of
Whole Foods Market broke through, ranking as 2017's
No. 1 food news story among Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby
Boomers/Matures alike, according to the Hunter Public Relations
Annual Food News Study.
Since 2003, Hunter Public Relations, a leading food and beverage
marketing communications agency, has been commissioning an annual
study to identify the top food news stories according to the
opinions of Americans. Now in its fifteenth year, this year's food
news study also set out to quantify the impact of these stories at
every step of the consumer engagement continuum by measuring the
influence on consumers' awareness (are the stories remembered?),
consideration (do they change opinions?), intent (do they change
behavior?) and advocacy (are they shared with others?).
For the past five years, Hunter has conducted the study in
partnership with Libran Research & Consulting, which surveyed
1,000 American adults and asked respondents to select the most
recalled news stories of the past 12 months. The data is reviewed
by key demographics, including the age cohorts of Millennials, Gen
Xers and Baby Boomers/Matures.
Amazon*, the world's largest online retailer, made major
headlines on June 16, 2017 when it
announced its plans to acquire Whole Foods Market. The e-retail
giant, which has dabbled in brick-and-mortar store concepts over
the past couple of years, agreed to acquire 460 Whole Foods Market
locations in the US, Canada and
the UK in a 13.7 billion-dollar deal,
Amazon's biggest acquisition to date. On August 28, 2017, the deal was official and Amazon
announced that all Whole Foods Market customers would immediately
see lower prices across a selection of best-selling products.
Last year's top food news story found itself back on this year's
list, occupying 2017's No. 2 spot: Another Food Safety
Scare at Chipotle. Chipotle's food safety issues made national
news late in 2015 and continued in 2016 when norovirus affected
more than 200 customers in the Boston area. In 2017, another food-borne
illness outbreak affected several Chipotle patrons at an outlet
near Washington, D.C., forcing the
location to close temporarily and sending the chain's stock down
more than six percent.
Topics of food safety (48 percent) and food nutrition/health and
wellness (35 percent) continue to be at the top of the list for
most Americans. In addition to Chipotle's food safety scare taking
the No. 2 spot, Nearly 2.5 Million Pounds of Tyson Chicken
Products Recalled – due to misbranding and undeclared allergens
on ready-to-eat breaded chicken sold to food-service customers in
30 states – came in as the No. 3 food news story of the
year.
Though according to the study, topics of food policy and
politics are not generally as important to Americans as food
safety, three politically-motivated stories claimed top spots this
year:
- At No. 4, is the news coverage that ensued after
Trump Took Aim at School Lunch Guidelines. In March 2017, the Trump administration challenged
Michelle Obama's agenda to promote
healthy school lunches by weakening restrictions on salt and
requirements for whole grains. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that school meals would
no longer have to adhere to standards championed by the former
first lady, granting schools more flexibility to serve foods they
choose.
- At No. 6, in January 2017,
President Trump Proposed Tariffs on Mexican Imports to Fund the
"Wall," which would mean that Americans would have to pay a 20
percent tax on food and beverages imported from our neighbor to the
south. Both before and after the 2016 election, Trump has remained
steadfast about building a wall along the Mexican border, and about
increasing tariffs on Mexico, as
well as other countries. The administration, however, quickly
backpedaled, maintaining that the tariff was just one of a few
options being considered to fund the construction. News outlets and
constituents alike were quick to criticize the proposed tax and the
notion that the resulting funds would cover the wall's costs.
- At No. 8 (tie), President Trump rebuffed yet another one
of former first lady Michelle
Obama's health initiative legacies when it was announced in
June 2017 that the FDA Would Delay
Rollout of New Nutrition Labels, intended to help Americans eat
more healthfully. The updated labels, advocated by Mrs. Obama,
would have a special line for added sugars and feature calorie
content in large, bold text.
Also included in the top 10 food news stories of 2017:
- News around Restaurant Chain Delivery came in at No.
5. With the influx of third-party delivery services,
restaurants assume almost no risk in testing out delivery, which
means consumers can get much more than just pizza delivered to
their door. Steak, anyone?
- Designed to reduce the time and stress of preparing a gourmet,
home-cooked meal, Meal Kits snagged the No. 7 spot on
the list and came in as the Top Food Trend Story of the
Year. Research has shown that the meal-kit industry resonates
most with Millennials, who tend to rationalize spending money to
save time on shopping and planning, and seek sharable experiences
and creations for social media.
- While capturing a unicorn is said to be impossible, it's no
surprise that Unicorn Food captured the No. 8 (tie)
spot on this year's list. The pastel and sparkle trend broke the
Internet when Starbucks introduced its limited-time-only "Unicorn
Frappuccino."
- Avocado lovers, rejoice because coming in at No. 10, is
the news that Avocado Prices Stabilized. California's crop size was down in the first
half of the year, leading to higher prices. To counter the price
incline, growers started planting more avocado trees to keep up
with the demand – avocado toast! – and stabilize prices.
To summarize, the top food stories of 2017 according to the
Hunter Public Relations 15th Annual Food News Study are
as follows:
- Amazon Acquires Whole Foods Market
- Another Food Safety Scare at Chipotle
- Nearly 2.5 Million Pounds of Tyson Chicken Products
Recalled
- Trump Takes Aim at School Lunch Guidelines
- Restaurant Chains Now Deliver
- Proposed Tariff on Mexican Imports to Fund "Wall" Means
Americans Will Pay More for Food
& Beverages
- There's a Meal Kit for Everyone
- (TIE) Unicorn Food is Colorful, Sparkly and Everywhere
- (TIE) FDA Delays Rollout of New Nutrition Labels
- Avocado Prices Stabilize
The Competitive Media Landscape
This year, more than
one-quarter of Americans across all three key age demographics feel
that food and nutrition stories are very important, which is
comparable to 2016 figures. However, in 2017, only 35 percent say
that food and nutrition stories are more important than other types
of stories – down from 41 percent in 2016 – revealing the
competitive nature of today's media landscape, with
politically-charged stories dominating the news cycle.
About Those Millennials
Amazon's acquisition of Whole
Foods Market and Chipotle's new food safety scare were ranked as
the No. 1 and No. 2 stories, respectively, across Millennials, Gen
Xers and Baby Boomers/Matures. When it came to the story that
occupied the No. 3 spot, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers/Matures both
agreed on Tyson's chicken recall, while Millennials ranked the
emergence of unicorn food as the third most memorable food story of
2017. The study also revealed that Millennials are more often moved
to change as a result of these stories and report higher levels of
changed opinions across many stories, even those outside of the top
three, including Restaurant Chains Now Deliver and
Avocado Prices Stabilize.
Impact of Food News on Consideration, Intent and
Advocacy
Stories that have a broader impact on the
population's opinion – either positive or negative – correlate to
the breakthrough power of these stories, measured by awareness,
regardless of their topic. Unsurprisingly, the top stories of 2017
are also delivering the top changes of opinion among consumers.
News of Amazon's Whole Foods Market purchase – this year's No. 1
story – had the highest number of Americans, especially
Millennials, noting a change of opinion, trailed closely by the
food safety scare at Chipotle and Tyson recall – the No. 2 and No.
3 stories, respectively.
Similarly, the top stories of the year based on awareness are
also those most likely to drive behavior changes among all
consumers polled. But when looking at behavior changes,
specifically among those aware of a particular news story, several
nutrition and trend-related stories broke into the top 10. The Top
Nutrition Story of the Year and No. 13 overall, How Much Protein
is Necessary?, rose to the top at 44 percent, and Veggies
Are Becoming the Star of Your Meal impacted the behavior of 41
percent of those aware. Trend-related news stories, The Rise in
Korean Flavors (44 percent), The Fermented Food Trend
(34 percent), and Cheers to Frosé! (30 percent) all had a
substantial impact, reinforcing the connection between awareness
and behavior.
The most noted specific food behavior changes occurring this
year by Americans is paying more attention to food labels, where
almost one-third of Americans admit to this change. Secondary
specific behavior changes include educating oneself more on food
(24 percent), paying more attention to food's impact on health (24
percent), as well as to food safety (24 percent) and ingredients
(23 percent). While all age groups are most likely to be paying
more attention to food labels, compared to Gen Xers and Baby
Boomers/Matures, Millennials are more likely to try new foods and
flavors and change how they prepare food as a result of the top
food stories. Millennials are also more likely to change their diet
and how they shop and pay more attention to their impact on the
environment.
In recognition of the power of social media to fuel news
sharing, for the first time this year, the Hunter Public Relations
Food News Study went a step further along the consumer engagement
continuum to examine advocacy and the "share-ability" of food
related news. This year's top stories appear to have more "water
cooler" sharing potential, meaning that Americans are more open to
talking about these stories with friends, family or coworkers.
Those stories that broke into the top 10 for social sharing of the
article itself often offer a "teachable moment," such as How
Much Protein is Necessary? and Warriors Against Food
Waste, as well as those with a touch of shock value, including
Insect-Based Foods Rise in Popularity and The Dark Side
of Food: Activated Charcoal.
New Media Leads for Food Information
Beginning in
2012, the Hunter Public Relations Food News Study expanded to delve
more deeply into where and how consumers are
accessing information about food, recipes and nutrition. For the
first time this year, social media has become the No. 1 source for
recipes for all consumers, taking over websites as the go-to
source. Millennials lead the shift, with 40 percent reporting that
they have found recipe inspiration on Facebook, as well as
Pinterest (38 percent) and Instagram (35 percent). Surprisingly,
nearly 15 percent report that they have found recipe inspiration on
Snapchat. For many consumers, it seems, there is not a single
source for food news, but rather most find their primary nutrition
news on websites (39 percent), search for recipes on social media
(51 percent) and learn about general food news on television (42
percent). For Hispanic consumers, though, social media is the
number one source for all food news including recipes (60 percent),
nutrition (48 percent) and general food news (51 percent).
For additional information about the Hunter PR 2017 Food News
Study, including detailed study results, visit
http://www.hunterpr.com/our-pov/foodstudy.html.
*As of May 1, 2017, Hunter PR
is an Agency of Record for select Amazon U.S. retail businesses.
Hunter PR was not involved in the dissemination of any information
surrounding the acquisition of Whole Foods Market.
ABOUT HUNTER PUBLIC RELATIONS
Founded in 1989, Hunter Public Relations is an award-winning
consumer products public relations firm with primary offices in
New York and London and a footprint across North America. Beginning with research-driven
consumer insights, Hunter executes strategic public relations
programs that build equity, increase engagement and drive
measurable business results for branded consumer products and
services. The 120-person firm employs a powerful blend of
traditional publicity, social and digital media, influencer
engagement and events and experiences to reach the hearts, minds
and spirits of target consumers. The agency is a member of MDC
Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: MDCA; TSX: MDZ.A), one of the
fastest-growing and most influential marketing and communications
networks in the world.
ABOUT THE STUDY
The 15th annual Food News Study commissioned by Hunter Public
Relations examined the top food news stories of 2017 in terms of
awareness, consideration, intent and advocacy. The study also
explored the top media sources for food information – broken out by
recipes, general food news and nutrition.
Hunter PR partnered with Libran Research & Consulting
for this study. Libran Research addresses business issues with
critical decision-making and impartial judgment – helping to drive
action in their clients' marketing strategies and tactics. Libran
Research surveyed 1,000 Americans ages 18 years and older via an
email invitation and online survey. The respondent sample was
balanced to the U.S. population on key demographics. Results of any
sample are subject to sampling variation. For the interviews
conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that
a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1
percentage points.
The survey was implemented Oct. 24 to
Oct. 28, 2017, covering the 12-month period from
November 2016 through October 2017.
Links:
Visit the Hunter PR 2017 Food News Study Website for Study Results:
http://www.hunterpr.com/our-pov/foodstudy.html
Visit Hunter PR website: http://hunterpr.com/
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