Who’s making money in the food industry these days?

Fast Company recently published numbers from a consumer research company that forecasts consumer food purchasing trends. Here are a few highlights of their findings:

We’ll be eating a lot of peanut butter and jelly the next four years. Part budget, part comfort food, jams, jellies and peanut butter sales are forecasted to grow 26 percent.

Don’t know how to cook, but can’t afford to keep dining out? Sales of frozen entrees, canned goods and other convenience foods like macaroni and cheese are expected to grow by 5 percent.

Coffee products are growing by about 6 percent because brewing at home offers an alternative to expensive coffeehouse purchases.

Entertaining and watching movies at home are increasing sales of salty snacks.

For those cooking at home, staples like butter and oil are expected to grow by 4 percent a year for the next four years. At the same time, bakery sales are dropping.

So, it looks like home cooks will be delving more into the area of DIY the next few years. Not only will it be better for our bottom lines, it will also give us more control over sourcing our food and creating healthy, tasty choices.


GE 4/9/09 Leave a Comment
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Gina Edwards is a cooking instructor and editor of andshecookstoo.com