820-Lanctster Fanning, Saturday, March 11, 1989
Food Producers Profit By Watching Lifestyle Trends
BY USA RISSER
LANCASTER Consumer
lifestyles and eating habits change
continually. Food producers bene
fit by keeping a close eye on these
changes and altering their products
accordingly. This was the message
Alletta Schadler gave to poultry
producers at the Poultry Progress
Day last week.
“It is important to realize that
how consumers act will impact
your business," added Schadler,
interim regional extension director
for Penn State and formerly a
home economist for Lebanon
County.
For instance, reports of sal
monella in eggs has caused many
consumers to reduce eggs in their
diets, while the report of lowered
cholesterol levels due to oat bran
consumption has caused an
increased demand in that product.
‘To understand what is happen
ing in the food industry, we need to
look at eaters and cookers,” said
Schadler.
According to a recent study on
chicken and egg consumption by
“Consumer Report”, one out of
three people are eating more chick
en than beef. There are many rea
sons for increased chicken con
sumption including its reputation
as a good nutritional source, clever
marketing, and its low cost
The magazine reported Ending
no incidences of salmonella and
(hat all chicken sampled was good,
although some was better than
others.
In addition, the staff sampled
free-range chicken, which is raised
in an environment where it can
roam freely, a growing condition
favored by animal rights activists.
Staffers found that the flavor was
good, but not necessarily good
Often I feel that my life
revolves around food. First I plant
my garden in March, weed it all
summer and I’m still harvesting in
October. The vegetables are either
canned or frozen and that occupies
many of my days.
Then all year long, every single
day. I’m planning meals for the
men. Shall I bake a ham, fry ham
burgers or grill a steak? Maybe we
should have chicken, fish or hot
dogs for a change. I always try to
have variety in my meals. Potatoes
are a constant though as I raised a
lot of them last year. But, I’ll
admit that about now they are bad
ly sprouted and wrinkled. So, we
substitute rice, noodles or
spaghetti.
I can’t let 100 pints of pickles
sit on the cellar shelf and so they
appear regularly on the table.
Another plentiful article is jelly
and jam. They range from straw
berry, peach and plum to blueber
ry, wineberry and raspberry.
And don’t forget desserts. We
usually have at, least two each
meal. Should welilve pie .and ice
cream or wou}d fruit and tfookies
go better witn* the meal? There is
often a variety of puddings; cus*
enough to warrant paying its $6.98
per pound price.
The trend of people eating away
from home is increasing at a slow
er rate than before. “The trend tow
ard buying out and eating at home
is increasing, however,” stated
Schadler.
In 95 percent of households, at
least one person has eaten away
from home each week, according
to Schadler. About 62 percent of
households bought take put food
during a week. Of that percentage,
48 percent purchased food at drive
through windows, 42 percent pur
chased food at a deli take-out, and
20 percent received home delivery
of food.
Consumers traditionally have
been lumped into several groups
based on age and marital status and
stereotyped accordingly. This is
changing as groups now are com
posed of people with a variety of
lifestyles and needs. Consumers
are still categorized by age but
advertising and marketing compa
nies are careful not to stereotype
any longer. The main groups are
the elderly or “grumpies” (grown
up mature people), boomers, and
teens/young adults.
Grumpies are adults who are 55
years and older. “For the first time
in history.this group outnumbers
teenagers,” Schadler reported.
“And people in this group don’t
like to be categorized as old people
thereby making marketing diffi
cult Their lifestyles are very diffe
rent than the same age group used
to be.”
Consumers in this group spend
more of their income on food and
62 percent of them eat for gratifi
cation as compared with 48 per
cent of the rest of the population.
They are nutrition minded, brand
tards and tapioca in the refrigera
tor. Fresh fruit salad is also a favo
rite. No wonder I must think about
how much I am eating.
The other day I got an unusual
seed catalog. It contains a descrip
tion of old time garden seeds* The
seeds originated from sources in
southeastern Pennsylvania and
were saved by families from one
generation to another. These var
ieties had excellent taste rather
than good keeping qualities that
would allow them to be shipped.
One unusual seed is “Mostoller
Wild Goose Bean.” It supposedly
was taken from the craw of a
Canadian goose shot in Somerset
County in 1864 by John Mostoll
er. It is thought the Complanter
Indians grew this white, oval seed
with reddish-speckled orange
brown spot over the eye along the
upper Allegheny River. Some
beans have nameis' such as-
Hutterite Soup Bean, Mull Kidney
Bean and Sacrament Bean. There
ate even Risser Early Sugar Pea
and- Risser Sickle Pea seeds,
which I gave the Landis Valley
Museum’s Heirloom Seed Project
a few years ago.
conscious, and price concemced.
They want single portions and
convenient-to-prepare foods.
Taste is important to this group as
their taste diminishes with age.
“Boomers is not one homogen
ized group,” Schadler said. It is
composed of married couples with
children, singles, divorcees, single
parents, and childless couples.
This group also has different
incomes levels, which brings dif
ferent needs.
One boomer group that is grow
ing is single person households
established by men, according to
Schadler. This group spends more
money on convenience foods and
includes many people who don’t
know how to cook.
Teens and young adults are
quite different than they used to be
in terms of food consumption and
preparation. They are an important
group for producers and marketers
as they will be around for a long
time.
“These consumers aren’treceiv
ing the same kind of training as
they did a few years ago,” com
mented Schadler. “They eat more
fast food and convenience foods;
they don’t know how to cook.”
These consumers will need pro
ducts with instructions and
recipes.
On the other hand, there are
many “latch key” kids who do the
family shopping and cooking.
These consumers aren’t brand con
scious and pick those that are
deemed good buys.
Diet Consciousness
Health and nutrition are very
important to today’s consumers.
Approximately 78 million Ameri
cans are using diet foods, and 54
percent of those began using diet
foods within the past five years.
Fitness is in and calorie
controlled and caffeine-free foods
are popular.
Microwaves are increasing in
popularity. About 50 to 70 percent
of households have microwaves.
Children are comfortable with this
technology, often more so than
adults. There is continuing
research being done to develop
foods that cook completely in the
microwave.
The first meeting of the Boots
’N’ Saddles Horse & Pony 4-H
Club was called to order at 7:30
p.m. at the Farm & Home Center
late last month. The minutes were
read followed by a report on the
club’s community service project.
Elected as officers for this year
are Melissa Harris, president; Sha
ron Hamish, vice president; Missy
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Iletta Schadler recently addressed attendees at the Lan
caster County Poultry Progress Day. Schadler, currently
the interim regional director for Penn State Extension, has
served Lebanon County as a home economist for many
years. Here she Is helping to judge cherry pies at the
Schaefferstwon Folk Festival.
People who have been using
microwaves for some time now arc
becoming impatient even with
waiting for frozen or refrigerated
foods to cook in the microwave.
This is producing a trend toward
shelf-stable foods that can be
heated more quickly. An example
of this is pasta in jars.
Consumers continue to be inter
ested in fresh produce. They’re
also interested in fresh, ready-to
cook foods such as stuffed chicken
breast.
Ethnic foods are popular and
have become an $8 billion busi
ness. Chicken lends itself well to
preparation in ethnic dishes.
Boots ’IST Saddles
Overbaugh, secretary; Eileen
Holm, assistant secretary; Becky
Preiss, treasurer; and Kate Moxley
and Eileen Holm, newspaper and
scrapbook chaifmen.
The Boots ’N’ Saddles Club is a
local club for those aged 8 to 18
that are interested in horses and
Consumers seeking conveni
ence continue to purchase pre
pared entrees. They want a variety
of meals and look for those within
300 to4oo calories. There is a push
for manufacturers to produce din
ners with lower sodium levels.
‘The things I think consumers
want today are portion-size con
trol, convenience, and new pro
ducts,” said Schadler. “They want
health and nutritional information
on the package, freshness, and
recipes for the food.”
By watching consumer lifestyle
trends, food producers can change
their products accordingly and
always find an eager market.
ponies. The organization hold teg
ular monthly meetings and plans
various activities such as trail
rides, horse shows, and clinics for
its members. Ownership of a horse
is not required. For information on
joining the club, call
717/569-3068.