The coronavirus outbreak has had a profound impact on consumers, changing how they live, what they eat and how they purchase. To understand these changes in behaviour and to offer our customers in-depth insights, Puratos is conducting consumer surveys around the world to discover how bakery categories will need to adapt and evolve to meet future consumer needs in the ‘new normal’.
In early June 2020, Puratos conducted a consumer survey in Italy. How have the needs for bakery items evolved for Italian consumers? What are their key criteria when buying bakery products, which items do they value most, and how do they prefer to buy them?
When purchasing bakery items, taste and freshness remain the most important selection criteria for Italian consumers, confirming the results of the latest Taste Tomorrow research. Hygiene has also become a selection criterion of increasing importance.
Italian consumers also remain price sensitive, while the percentage of cocoa is important when buying chocolate.
Product preferences of Italian consumers are evolving. The corona crisis is expected to boost sales of products that are:
Freshly packed with 1-2 days shelf life. Interestingly, Italian consumers also remain confident with unpacked breads, but only when purchased from an artisan store.
Local, with 74% of consumers favouring baked goods made with ingredients from Italian origins.
Sustainable, with 57% of consumers seeking products from more caring companies during these difficult times.
Affordable, with 69% of Italian families expecting financial losses due to the crisis, many consumers pay more attention to the amount spent on food.
Purchasing behaviours are also changing, with 82% of Italian shoppers planning to pay more attention to hygiene in food outlets, and artisans likely to attract more shoppers after the crisis.
While staying at home during the lockdown, 82% of Italian consumers were home baking. The benefits they see are clear: they can control the ingredients, and consider home baking healthier. It also offers great family time.
Italy was one of the eight stops in Puratos’ quest to understand global consumers in the ‘post-corona period’. Discover the consumer surveys in:
In the coming months, we will continue to explore and gather in-depth insights into global and local consumer behaviour, attitudes, choices and trends related to Bakery categories.
Contact your local Puratos representative
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