As part of their ‘Ungeek’ collection, Zirca Digital Solutions, a 360-degree digital solutions company for brands, has released a white paper on food and beverage developments. Ungeek is a collection of colorful, simple, easy-to-understand research reports and thought pieces that are essential for today’s marketer.
Consumer behavior has changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and these changes are here too last. It has changed the way people thought. Audiences are identifying their likes, opinions, and expectations, and looking for new ways to fulfill their requirements.
Consumers had to adapt rapidly during the pandemic’s early stages and learn different methods to care about themselves and find alternate ways to complete even boring activities. Not only did these developments impact people and their families, but also major businesses and companies. The pandemic has had a huge effect on the food and beverage industry, as it has on most other industries.
The whitepaper “Food and Beverage Trends in the New Normal” by Zirca Digital Solutions looks at the behavioral changes that occurred after the lockout. The white paper focuses on important developments such as modern kitchen growth, health is wealth, safety and convenience, and new – age influencers.
The below are some of the highlights from the white paper:
Trends in Kitchen Design
The pandemic has changed the way we eat food in our households, from restaurants closing to the rise of home cooking.
- Culinary skills are seen as a passion, a pleasure, a way to ensure protection, and a way to de-stress, and this cultural shift has increased in the number of people visiting cooking-related websites. During the lockdown, traffic on these portals jumped from 14 to 17 million, compared to 14 to 17 million before the lockdown.
- During the lockdown, the number of people watching Food and Lifestyle genre outlets on television increased to 245.5 million, up from 160 million before the lockdown. The average amount of time spent on these channels increased from 10.03 minutes in Q1-2019 to 15.08 minutes in Q1-2021.
- During the lockdown, a new movement called “Do it Yourself” arose. Baking bread was one such craze that swept the country. According to SEMRUSH, search volumes on how to bake bread increased by 515 percent, and search volumes on how to bake bread at home increased by 616 percent.
- Pandemic was also a stimulus for the development of modern personas. People who cook food to monetize, cook food to unwind, cook for improved nutrition, and cook passively, by necessity, were described as four personas.
Convenience and Safety
Consumers flocked to the internet to shop for regular food, paving a new route into the new mainstream.
- According to the BCG survey, e-commerce saw a 1.3–1.5x growth in the number of shoppers for basic food (fresh food, essentials, processed food, and beverages), a 1.4x increase in the number of categories shopped online, and a 45 percent increase in online spending.
- Post-covid, traffic on e-grocery sites rose to 15 million, up from 10 million before.
- Companies adapted to help bring essentials to customers, forming unexpected partnerships and innovative market models –
- Essentials were shipped by Zomato and Swiggy.
- Flipkart has partnered with Uber and Meru to supply basics.
- ITC and Dominos teamed up to supply important products.
- When consumers were more used to better offerings from numerous e-commerce sites, they discovered how easy it was to buy groceries online.
Health is wealth
People adopted nutritious food diets and exercise regimens to boost their immunity as a result of their fear of contracting Covid-19. This group has been steadily increasing since the second quarter of 2020.
- Diet, health, and wellness portal daily visits rose from 37 million in January 2020 to 41 million in February 2021. The total amount of time spent on these portals rose from 3393 million minutes in January 2020 to 4064 million minutes in January 2021.
New Age Influencers
Influencers and cloud kitchens are changing how ordinary people consume material. Influencers (Bloggers, YouTubers, Podcasters, Instagrammers, etc.) and cloud kitchens picked up on the demand for instruction, each attempting to capture the attention of the masses.
“The Ungeek effort has gotten a lot of attention in the trade and marketing worlds. Everyone was blown away by how well intricate numbers were explained and presented,” remarked Neena Dasgupta, CEO, and Director of Zirca Digital Solutions.
“Food and its auxiliary activities took on a whole new significance during the epidemic. For some, it has evolved into a pastime, a pastime, or even a problem, which is why our second white paper focuses on food and beverage trends.
“At Zirca, we’ve always taken a knowledge-based approach to all we do, with our customers at the center of all we do. We believe it is our responsibility to share our expertise with all of our brands and partners to assist them in making sound business decisions. We aspire to be a part of our partners’ journeys with Ungeek by creating meaningful conversations,” Dasgupta continued.
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