Capturing 15,000 weeks of household food shopping annually, Mealpulse™ is Freshlogic’s food consumer research platform. It is designed to identify changes, quantify impacts, and track movements in food consumer buyer behaviours as households are influenced by changes in attitudes, values, and prevailing economic conditions. Enabled by ongoing research investment, Mealpulse™ has generated over 12 years of data and provides access to a wealth of decision-ready insights to guide food market decisions. It can reveal the drivers of these changes and provide a basis for demand forecasting.
The Mealpulse™ system integrates respondents’ DocketData to inform household purchase quantities and enable analysis based on food products purchased. This combination also allows analysis of whether aspirational views are reflected in food buyer behaviour.
Insights from Mealpulse™ have unpacked the details of several food trends, with some evolving into ongoing food market settings. Examples of these transitions include:
- How an informed and discerning food consumer is now intolerant of poor value but has a wider sphere of value considerations to satisfy.
- How ethical food values have influenced demand and provided scope for higher value product attributes, with varied appeal across different household segments.
- How the demand for all aspects of convenience, including retailer selection, shopping experience, and product form, remains a firm set of demand settings for household food buying.
- How the social restrictions of the Covid era tested the demand for households “eating out” and confirmed how this type of consumption behaviour is now a firm part of lifestyle patterns.
There is strong value in all fruit and vegetable stakeholders understanding the value that consumers see in their product, as the product form does not change after it leaves the packhouse. This means the product has had all the value added that is possible, as beyond that point it is just a raw commodity.