The ‘Food and Families’ Observatory of the Nestlé France Foundation questioned the French in collaboration with Ipsos on the eating habits of the French.
While the health and food criterion is increasingly sought following by all French people, especially since the pandemic, inflation upsets this desire to ‘eat better’, forcing the French to compromise in their habits.
Inflation upsets the desire to eat better
The Observatory shows a shift among the French, coming out of the health crisis, from a feed ‘pleasure’ to a feed more concerned regarding health issues. There is a rebalancing towards a food model that links the notions of gluttony, conviviality, sharing within the family, and health issues; in particular the concern for healthy, homemade foods and balanced meals.
The concern for healthy, homemade foods and balanced meals
If the vast majority of the French are at the rendezvous of the two main meals of the day: only 3% never have lunch, and 1% never have dinner.
Pleasure remains spontaneously the main criterion associated with food for the French. It is expressed through taste and gluttony, but also in homemade or in moments of conviviality: 43% of French people mention, for example, the fact of allowing themselves very greedy foods, 40% the fact of cooking or eating homemade dishes or desserts, 40% eating together.
Eating healthy, balanced, is first of all to favor vegetables (52%)
Eating healthy, balanced, is first and foremost for the French to favor vegetables (52%), homemade cooking (50%) and seasonal products (50%; 65% for 50-65 year olds), before worrying regarding the right balance between lipids, carbohydrates and proteins (44%), reducing sugar (42%) or consumption of ultra-processed or ready-to-eat products (38%).
The price appears as the first obstacle to ‘eating well’
The study shows that while consumers have a clear vision of what ‘eating well’ means to them, unsurprisingly, price appears to be the main obstacle to ‘eating well’: 55% of French people consider that it is too expensive to eat a balanced diet (59% of 35-49 year olds), 32% consider the price as a major concern for meals. A very large majority of French people (82%) note that the average price of races has increased (49% that it has increased a lot).
The inflationary context forces them to adopt certain compromises on food. Standard of living, purchasing power, inflation are now a concern for 54% of French people (a figure that rises to 60% among 35-49 year olds and middle-income households).
Finally, note that only 24% of French people plan to spend less on food in the next 6 months.