4/1/13
It’s a common fallacy among children that delicious, home-cooked meals appear by magic. But if it were really magic, couldn’t every meal be American cheese slices or spaghetti? The reality is that women expend a lot of effort to plan, shop for, and prepare family meals, according to a report by Fleishman-Hillard. More than half of moms prepare at least four meals a week, although working moms are more likely to prepare fewer than three.
Regardless of how many meals they actually cook in a given week, nearly all of them (96%) want to make changes in 2013 when it comes to their family meals. And their top resolution is to be more organized, starting with the list. Eight in 10 moms (80%) head to the grocery store with a list; 50% are armed with a basic list that features general items and are open to impulse purchases; 33% are “super organized” with a complete list, weekly meal plan, and relevant coupons.
Getting on the List
One in 10 mothers (10%) use “mental lists” since they purchase essentially the same items each week. Working moms are twice as likely as stay-at-home moms to use mental lists. It’s important for food brands to recognize that moms shop from a whole-week perspective rather than for one-day meals, says Fleishman-Hillard’s Kristie Sigler.
All moms want to save money, and 79% prefer coupons that arrive via snail mail. Nearly half (46%) want social media to better serve up coupons and deals.
More than half of mothers (52%) want to make healthier food choices, citing environmental concerns (8%), allergies (8%), and price (5%) as key reasons.
More than three-quarters of them (78%) read food labels, with 50% saying they read more labels now than they did last year. Urban and suburban moms are more likely to read labels, and those who cook at home fewer than three times per week are least likely to read labels.
The majority of women who do read labels are frustrated with what they see. They want straightforward information and for it to be easier to know what’s healthy, says Sigler. Otherwise they feel deceived. Mothers see junk food packages promoting “added vitamins and minerals” and know these are false and inaccurate claims, she says. Moms, in particular, are paying more attention to sugar substitutes (56%), calories (44%), and additives/preservatives (41%).
While mothers are the key decision-makers for shopping and meal planning, their spouses and children do wield influence. Spouses, for instance, command more influence with dining out decisions (71%), family meal preparation (48%), and impulse purchases (48%) than with grocery shopping (39%) and meal planning (32%). Children wield the most influence on meal planning (65%) and dining out decisions (59%).
The majority of moms turn to the Internet for food inspiration; the sources with the most influence are Allrecipes.com (23%), Pinterest (19%), FoodNetwork.com (15%), blogs (11%), Epicurious (9%), Google (7%), and Recipes.com (6%).
More than four in 10 moms (43%) want to get their children more involved in cooking, and 53% want to prepare healthier meals. The report recommends that one of the key ways to do both is to start engaging prekindergarten children in the activities of making family meals. “They want to get them engaged as soon as it’s safe. It’s a great way to spend time together, to teach them about health and nutrition and to get them to try new things,” says the report.
When moms aren’t cooking, 30% of families use take-out or delivery, 28% go out to eat at restaurants, 17% use leftovers, 15% use pre-packaged mixed meals with fresh ingredients, 4% make frozen entrees, and 1% order prepared deli-counter foods.
© 2013 Business Valuation Resources, LLC (BVR). May not be reproduced without written consent of publisher.