For 90% of consumers, price continues to be the top purchase driver for fresh. The combination of recent inflation and the perception that frozen food costs less (held by 62% of consumers) is attracting more consumers to frozen alternatives.

“Despite significant price premiums, sustainability-marketed products grew far faster than conventionally branded players and had lower price sensitivity in two-thirds of categories examined,” said Randi Kronthal-Sacco, senior scholar, marketing and corporate outreach, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business.

Beverage retail sales spiked in 2020 due to the impact of the coronavirus as consumers ate and drank virtually everything at home.

With such an acute focus on well-being in the wake of a year and a half of an ongoing global health crisis, consumers are paying closer attention than ever to the ingredients in the foods they eat. Moreover, with working from home shifting from a temporary to a permanent state for many workers, these same consumers have learned the hard way that calories count, so counting calories is back.