Comfort Food Reverses Health Trend
American shoppers who were adopting healthier eating habits are gravitating back to old ways, as they hunker down to weather the coronavirus pandemic. They are purchasing shelf-stable items from canned meat and soup to pretzels and potato chips as they comply with orders to stay home.
According to Bloomberg, the shift back from healthier fare toward traditional staples may boost the fortunes of packaged food companies, which have been struggling with lagging sales, as consumers opted for fresher alternatives.
General Mills Inc., Tyson Foods Inc., Campbell Soup Co. and Kraft Heinz Co. saw sales gains between 10% and 20% in the rolling four weeks that ended March 8, for items such as soup and breakfast food, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Diana Rosero-Pena said in a Thursday report, citing IRI data.
“People are retreating back into comfort habits,” said Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst Jennifer Bartashus. “There’s a lot of uncertainty and in those kind of times people tend to retreat to what’s known to them and what’s comforting to them.”
After years of low-carb diets scaring some shoppers away, potatoes are disappearing from shelves across the nation. Demand has shifted to the retail space, where people are buying potatoes since they are inexpensive, stay fresh for weeks and are a source of comfort in stressful times, said Frank Muir, president and chief executive officer of the Idaho Potato Commission. The demand is so great the commission is encouraging restaurants to shift unused cartons of potatoes to local retailers in need, he said.
