The Insatiable Appetite

What’s the meaning of “diet” for consumers today? How do popular eating approaches like plant-based or low-carb fit into cultural views on diet? In our latest podcast, our analysts provide a preview of findings from our upcoming report, Modern Approaches to Eating 2022 (due for release June 30, 2022).  They highlight findings from the new report, which examines the overall landscape of eating appr...

What are kids of all ages eating today and what’s the influence of parents? In this podcast, we discuss highlights of eating habits, attitudes, and values of kids aged zero to 17 as measured in our Eating Occasions Compass database, which records the who, what, where, when, why, and how of consumer eating habits. We discuss the demographics and eating habits of households with children aged zero t...

In this podcast, we discuss how kids today are caught up in the same tides of cultural change as their parents with resulting impacts on eating behavior. As households become increasingly multi-generational as well as multi-cultural, children today are growing up with a broader cultural heritage in food and beverage.   We examine how kids are learning their food values from their parents, adopting...

In this podcast, our analysts provide a preview of our soon-to-be-released Organic 2022: Then, Now, Next report. Last updated just before the early days of the pandemic—and part of a biannual series of studies dating back over 20 years—-they discuss findings from the new report which document how consumers have actually increased their purchase of organic food and beverage products despite histori...

In this podcast, members of Hartman Retainer Services discuss five key takeaways from their newly released Shifting Food Habits & Routines: 2021 Eating Occasions report. They discuss how the pandemic has altered a number of different eating habits and needs, including those that relate to early morning snacking, social eating, use of restaurants and leftovers, and trading up to premium food an...

In this podcast, members of Hartman Retainer Services discuss highlights from their newly released Ideas in Food 2022: Six Key Trends in Modern Food Culture report and discuss topics and brands relating to regenerative systems, rethinking plastics, gut health, nostalgia, upcycling and equitable, and experience retail.  Listen in and learn how retailers and brands like Erewhon, Thrive Market, OLIPO...

What's an ideal meal these days and how are kitchen gadgets and appliances like air fryers helping busy consumers with their culinary ambitions?   In this podcast, our analysts discuss the impact of current events on American cooking habits as examined in our new report, At the Dining Table: American Meals and Cooking . We learn more about why 20% of Americans say they bought an air fryer dur...

It doesn't seem that long ago, but it was over 25 years ago when Harvey Hartman founded The Hartman Group with a focus on discovering opportunities in meeting rising consumer demand for what were then called "green" products. In this podcast, Hartman Group CEO Laurie Demeritt and Senior Vice President Davey McHenry reflect on how the company has evolved from those roots into a multi...

Meals in American households are woven into the cultural fabric of everyday life: They serve as a unifying experience shared by most, if not all, consumers. As we approach nearly two years of a pandemic, how do Americans think about and approach meals and cooking today? In this podcast, find out as our analysts provide chapter-by-chapter highlights from our new report, At the Dining Table: America...

In this podcast, Hartman Group CEO Laurie Demeritt and Melissa Abbott, Vice President Retainer Services, explore trends to watch in 2022, drawing on insights from Hartman Retainer Services’ annual report, Ideas in Food . Laurie and Melissa discuss the expectations consumers have for companies and brands going forward in 2022 in the context of megatrends like sustainability, health and wellness, an...

We’re delighted to be speaking with Jane Freiman, founder of Smart Kitchen Insights Group, a virtual test kitchen that helps companies get closer to their targets. Jane is an innovator with more than 30 years of test kitchen experience.   On this episode, we compare notes on recipe development and testing from the perspective of the home cook. We explore what it's like for consumers to cook t...

During the course of 2021, we’ve witnessed are key shifts in both when and how much Americans are consuming across the day. In this episode, we delve once again into our Eating Occasions Compass database to reveal some interesting insights into the early-morning snacking occasion.  On an average day, almost a quarter of American consumers are participating in early-morning snacking occasions. List...

Carbon neutral or carbon positive? How do consumers perceive the carbon claims food and beverage companies are making today and do they influence purchase behavior? In this podcast, we draw inspiration from both the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Glasgow, Scotland as well as findings from our newly-released report, Sustainability 2021: Environment and Society in Focus ....

Let’s talk about the use of leftovers. We know, perhaps not the most exciting topic to discuss, but this past year, we’ve actually uncovered some pretty dramatic changes in this space. Did you know that 29% of eating occasions, as of summer 2021, involved at least some leftovers? That's up nine percentage points from before the pandemic and up three percentage points from just last year. List...

In this podcast, we discuss how co-founder John Mackey’s retirement from Whole Foods Market is a good reminder to recount the chain’s outsized influence on trends ranging from clean product standards to organics, GMOs and animal and employee welfare.  From its involvement in establishing organic standards to sustainability efforts at retail like banning plastic bags, our analysts discuss how, sinc...

Already trending upward, wellness has gone even more mainstream during the pandemic, and despite competition from a diversity of retailers, independent natural products retailers still manage to offer premium wellness experiences.   On this podcast, we discuss the hallmarks of authentic wellness retailing with Jay Jacobowitz, who shares his expertise as a consultant to natural retailers on why suc...

Sustainability is very much on consumers’ minds these days. As we emerge from a year defined by a global pandemic and growing concerns around social justice, political turmoil, and climate change, previously abstract environmental and social well-being concerns are becoming increasingly more tangible.   On this episode, we share some key findings from our latest report, Sustainability 2021: Enviro...

Prior to the pandemic, one of the biggest trends in the beverage landscape was a change in how consumers—particularly younger consumers—approach the consumption of alcohol. This rising interest in low- and no-alcohol beverages is largely driven by consumers’ health-centered concerns.  The pandemic seemingly altered the trajectory of this trend overnight, but despite a boozy pandemic surge in alcoh...

It’s been quite an unsettling and uncertain time, with COVID-19 impacting eating and drinking behaviors in dramatic ways: In this podcast, our analysts discuss highlights from our ongoing eating occasions research and provide insights on changes in behavior during the 2019 to 2021 time period. Topics discussed include changes in early morning eating occasions, lunch, snacks, eating away from home,...

The Hartman Group’s Sustainability study has tracked consumer attitudes and behaviors related to environmental and social responsibility for over 20 years. Join us for a conversation with Robertson Allen and Abby Cullinan, Hartman consultants and lead researchers on previous sustainability-related research. Robertson and Abby discuss how a shifting cultural context for sustainability concerns over...

The latest FMI-Hartman Group U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends Tracker 2021: Back to School/Back to Office report measures the impact of COVID-19 on U.S. grocery shopper perceptions and behaviors. On this episode, The Hartman Group’s Vice President of Strategic Insights David Feit and FMI’s Steve Markenson, Director, Research & Insights, discuss key findings from the report. Americans continue to ha...

Not all celebrity collaborations with food and beverage companies and brands work. But when they do, well, the results have been off the charts—such as McDonald’s collaboration with K-pop sensation BTS.  BTS is influencing music, dance and now food trends. They have an ability to connect and resonate with Gen Z fans with billions of worldwide views of their #1 hit music videos and for tying sales...

This summer, we’ve been fortunate to have Lauren Howard, a student from Haverford College, interning here at The Hartman Group. Lauren is passionate about food, social psychology, and health and wellness. On this, the 100th episode of our Insatiable Appetite podcast, Lauren shares her observations about what it’s like as a member of a generation that is a driving force behind many food-forward tre...

The Hartman Group’s latest report, Brand Ambition: Food and Beverage Private Brands & Beyond , describes consumers as more empowered than ever before in demanding that brands—private brands and name brands—meet an expanded and diversified set of needs. In this episode, Doug Baker, Vice President of Industry Relations at FMI—The Food Industry Association, returns to share his perspectives with...

One of our favorite podcast topics is delicious and healthy snacking provided by brands with a unique twist. On this episode, we’re delighted to be chatting with Nick Mendoza, founder and CEO of Neptune Snacks. Nick shares with us how he “became obsessed with inspiring people to fight for a better global seafood industry through something they could hold, touch, and taste.” This led to the creatio...