3 Transformational Food Movements

Google's Steve Lerch presented an overview of how digital media has changed the food system at the 2019 Top Producer Seminar.
Google's Steve Lerch presented an overview of how digital media has changed the food system at the 2019 Top Producer Seminar.
(Lindsey Robinson)

The rise of farmer’s markets to home-delivery meal kits to niche brands claiming gluten-free and sunshine-fed products are just a few clues the food landscape is cluttered, confusing and changing. 

“We have so much more information than ever before, and that leads us to trust everything less,” says Steve Lerch, Google account executive for advocacy and associations. “Trust has declined in the food system.”

Today’s food movements, Lerch says, fall into three categories: purpose, plan and preparation.

Purpose: Consumers are shifting away from focusing on weight loss—strong is the new skinny. “For the first time in Google history, we’re seeing a reduction in interest to ‘get skinny,’ and seeing more focus on ‘get fit,’” Lerch says. In fact, one in three people say physical activity is important to their identity.

Plan: Today, no purchases are considered a low-consideration buy. Consumers are faced with more choices than ever and heavily research items—even low-dollar ones (every week there are millions of Google searches related to toothpaste). Over half of all offline purchases are digitally influenced, Lerch says. Although grocery shopping has been one of the slowest categories to move online, it’s rapidly being adopted. Lerch says 35% of U.S. household will spend at least one-third of their annual grocery budget via online channels. 

Preparation: “Food is becoming an increasingly personal thing for people,” Lerch says. “Consumers want to talk about how they are feeding their families.” Consumers use their smartphone as a sous chef, he says, as six out of 10 millennials use their smartphones or tablets to help in the kitchen. 

Read More: Google Identifies Three Marketing Trends Affecting Pork Consumption

 

 

Latest News

Where Did All the Corn Acres and Principal Crop Acres Go? The Two Biggest Questions from USDA's Big Prospective Plantings Report
Where Did All the Corn Acres and Principal Crop Acres Go? The Two Biggest Questions from USDA's Big Prospective Plantings Report

USDA says farmers intend to plant 90 million acres of corn this year, which is lower than the trade expected prior to USDA's big Prospective Plantings report.

Vestaron and Simplot Announce Distribution Agreement
Vestaron and Simplot Announce Distribution Agreement

The distribution agreement focuses on Vestaron’s Spear Lep insecticide, which is a peptide-based control method meant to provide growers with a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional chemicals.

The Scoop Podcast: How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs
The Scoop Podcast: How To Gear Up For Carbon And Sustainability Programs

Tim Hushon, sustainability and technology director at The Mill, details how sustainability factors into their ag retail business and how to partner with farmers on the technology adoption required.

Two Crop Protection Partners Divest Postharvest Solutions Company
Two Crop Protection Partners Divest Postharvest Solutions Company

Sumitomo Chemical and Valent BioSciences have announced Pace International will become part of AgroFresh Solutions.

The Untold Farmer Stories Of Ukraine: Q&A With Howard Buffett
The Untold Farmer Stories Of Ukraine: Q&A With Howard Buffett

Farmer and philanthropist Howard Buffett held a fireside chat during the 2024 Top Producer Summit to share his experiences visiting the front line of Ukraine over the past two years.

Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
Get the Facts Straight on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza

Now that the mystery illness impacting some dairy herds has been revealed as the same strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza that has been impacting the U.S. poultry flock, pork producers are asking questions.