IRISH people want to eat well and are more likely to cook at home according to a comprehensive review of food attitudes, shopping and cooking trends amongst adults in ten regions around the world.
PERIscope, run by Bord Bia, takes a year long look at the trends and habits of a nation in relation to food and it draws the same set of analysis from nine other countries around the world.
In previous waves of the research, biennial studies were produced for ROI/NI/GB and for other European countries (including France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Netherlands and Sweden). In 2010, research was also conducted in New Zealand and the US.
In 2013, Bord Bia took the decision to combine both studies in order to obtain a more detailed perspective on how consumers view food related issues and report their behaviours across 10 countries. PERIscope 2013, therefore, provides research findings for the ROI/GB and Continental study in one year.
Food in general
Attitude to food in Ireland remains slightly more positive than in neighbouring Great Britain.
In particular, adults in Ireland are more likely to try to eat high fibre foods, to eat foods that are low in fat and to avoid sugary foods. They are also less likely to often eat ready prepared/ convenience meals.
Attitudes towards fresh, frozen and chilled foodstuffs illustrates that the Irish are more likely to believe that fresh is better than frozen in terms of quality but the two countries are similar when it comes to believing that frozen and chilled products are of a similar standard.
Ownership of juicers and smoothie makers is higher in Ireland than in the UK, though ownership levels within the Republic have decreased since 2011. Deep fat fryers are also in less households now than ever before, decreasing by 20% in both countries over the past 8-10 years. However, adults in Ireland are still considerably more likely than their GB counterparts to own this household item.
Growing herbs remains the most popular item to grow. Growing your own fruit and vegetables continues to be more popular in Ireland.
Cooking at home
The UK continues to boast a slightly better culinary expertise than that of Irish consumers. Just under two thirds of residents in GB claim that they “would be confident to cook a Sunday roast with all the trimmings/ would enjoy hosting a dinner party where they do all the cooking”. Ireland is displaying a growing confidence regarding their ability in
recent years.
In terms of attitude towards cooking, GB also displays a slightly more positive attitude in terms of the fun and passion whilst Irish consumers were more likely to mention the importance of eating well. However, it seems that children in Ireland are much more interested than the older generation in cooking than children in GB, suggesting a changing tide in the future perhaps. In addition, there is a substantially higher proportion of Irish adults attending / taking a cooking class compared to GB.
A much higher proportion of ROI adults will only eat out for special occasions while getting everyone to sit down together to eat also poses a much bigger challenge here than in the UK. The use of ready to eat foods in UK households is higher than in Ireland, as is the use of microwaves for food preparation.
The proportion of those cooking a meal from scratch is similar in ROI and GB, though those claiming to do so once/ few times a day is higher in Ireland. Baking remains a lost art for the majority with over half of the adult population in both regions claiming ‘never’ to have baked.
Convenience meals/ready prepared meals are viewed more positively in GB than ROI, particularly in terms of value for money, being a good substitute for home cooked meals and always being in the home.
As the number of males who take responsibility for cooking their own meals is on the rise, the preparation of Italian cuisine remains the most popular food type in Ireland and the UK. BBQ (steak/burgers etc) and Chinese food are the next most popular in both markets. With it’s larger ethnic community representation widespread, Indian food is considerably higher in the UK than in Ireland.
If we eat out, the quality of food offered is the most important factor in a premises followed by value for money.
Chinese food remains the most popular food choice when dining out of home.
Our Health
Ireland positions itself as the healthiest region, with 85% of respondents describing their diet as very/fairly healthy, a figure that has been steadily rising since 2003. In the UK, the majority also consider themselves to be healthy, at 78%.
Ireland’s attitude towards diet, health and wellbeing seems to be more resolute than that of its neighbour’s. Adults in Ireland are much more convinced about how eating can help one to take control over their lives and future health as well as contribute to their overall well being. Additionally, they claim to be more conscious of foods with nutritional benefits, only eating food that is good for you and limiting the amount of fast food that is consumed.
Labelling continues to baffle us while the levels of belief that Irish consumers have in the claims of some food packaging is showing signs of decreasing.
