Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways: what consumers want
- Target audience overview
- Impact of COVID-19 on home entertaining
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- Figure 1: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on party hosting, August 2020
- Opportunities and challenges
- Consumer challenge: consumers miss seeing their loved ones
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- Figure 2: Higher priorities for consumers since COVID-19 outbreak, August 2020
- Brand opportunity: help facilitate alternative methods of connecting
- Consumer challenge: hosts and guests may not be on the same page
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- Figure 3: Cautiousness about inviting others to own home and visiting someone else’s home, April 2020
- Brand opportunity: teach hosts how to entertain safely
- Consumer challenge: enduring this year’s holiday season
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- Figure 4: Types of parties/gatherings hosted or attended in 2019, April 2020
- Brand opportunity: help friends and family unite with food
- What it means
Target Audience: Party Hosts – Key Takeaways
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- Recognize that hosts are a varied group of consumers
- Expect fewer and smaller parties in 2020
- Plan for home entertaining to enjoy a boost during the recovery period
Party Hosts by the Numbers
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- Weathering a pandemic means fewer parties this year
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- Figure 5: Share of adults who hosted or attended a party or gathering in 2019, April 2020
- Hosts represent a broad section of the population
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- Figure 6: Demographic summary of party hosts, April 2020
- Married women offer a proxy for hosts in general
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- Figure 7: Gender of hosts and non-hosts, by current marital status, April 2020
- Homeownership is linked to hosting
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- Figure 8: Primary residence of hosts and non-hosts, April 2020
Impact of COVID-19 on Party Hosting
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- Figure 9: Short, medium and long term impact of COVID-19 on party hosting, August 2020
- Consumers miss gathering with others during lockdown
- Lockdown: COVID-19 pandemic curbs social gatherings
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- Figure 10: Share of adults worried about exposure to the coronavirus, March-August 2020
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- Figure 11: Cautiousness about inviting others to own home and visiting someone else’s home, April 2020
- Re-emergence: varying levels of caution
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- Figure 12: Demographic differences between more cautious and less cautious hosts, April 2020
- Recovery: people will look for safe ways to socialize
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- Figure 13: Level of comfort with drinking and dining indoors and outdoors, August 2020
- Figure 14: Motivations for hosting a party/gathering, among more cautious and less cautious hosts, April 2020
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Learnings from the Last Recession
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- Increase in at-home food spending bodes well for at-home entertaining
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- Figure 15: Personal food consumption expenditures, 2006-20
- Entertaining at home an affordable option amidst unemployment
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- Figure 16: Unemployment and underemployment, January 2007-June 2020
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Pandemic circumstances disrupt favorite experiences
- Balancing mental and physical wellbeing
- Technology makes social distancing less painful
Mintel’s Global Trend Drivers
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- Desire for shared experiences drives need for parties and gatherings
- Weighing physical risks against emotional Wellbeing
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- Figure 17: Higher priorities for consumers since COVID-19 outbreak, August 2020
- Technology offers next best thing
Competitive Strategies
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- Enabling Experiences
- Chicago’s Luft Balloon keeps Playfulness pillar alive
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- Figure 18: Luft Balloons Instagram post, June 2020
- Dos Equis helps consumers salvage summer
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- Figure 19: Promotional image for the Dos Equis Seis-Foot Cooler, June 2020
- Helping hosts maintain the Wellbeing of guests
- Uncharted etiquette and opportunities for new products
- One room, in particular, offers great possibilities
- Technology
- Shared food and drink experiences can still happen with Cozymeal
- Streaming platforms save movie nights
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- Home settings preferred over public places, especially now
- For the holidays you can’t beat home, sweet home
- Ultimately, parties and gatherings are about human connections
- New approaches to serving can inspire product innovation
- Reevaluation of relationships could inspire more entertaining post-COVID
- Products that enable outdoor entertaining could inspire novice hosts
Gathering Locations
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- Parties at home are far more common than public celebrations
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- Figure 20: Locations of parties/gatherings hosted or attended in 2019, April 2020
- In their own words: consumers will be cautious about public parties
- In their own words: home gatherings are preferred, but not right away
Entertaining Occasions
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- Thanksgiving and winter holidays generate the most festivities
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- Figure 21: Types of parties/gatherings hosted or attended in 2019, April 2020
- Homeownership linked to fall and winter holiday hosting
- Milestone and task-focused gatherings driven by younger hosts
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- Figure 22: Average age of hosts, by party occasion, April 2020
Hosting Motivations
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- Entertaining is an excuse to see loved ones
- Hosts use food to show love for others
- Parties at home provide an economical option
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- Figure 23: Motivations for hosting a party/gathering, among hosts, April 2020
Eating and Drinking at Social Gatherings
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- Parties give hosts a chance to get cooking
- Opportunities for cocktails and crafting
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- Figure 24: Items hosts typically make themselves, April 2020
- Demand for disposable party goods will increase
- Green brands can grow in the home entertaining space
- Snack packaging needs to innovate
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- Figure 25: Items purchased for a hosted party/gathering, April 2020
- Guests may need guidance to know what to bring
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- Figure 26: Items brought to a party/gathering, April 2020
- Brand spotlight: ProFlowers
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- Figure 27: FTD Companies, Inc. Creative, Facebook link post, April 2020
Attitudes toward Entertaining at Home
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- Hosts don’t always need a reason to invite people over
- For once, people are not too busy to gather in person
- Homemade food isn’t a “must” for all hosts
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- Figure 28: Attitudes toward entertaining at home, April 2020
Barriers to Hosting
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- Outdoor gatherings could create opportunities for novice hosts
- New hosts need tools that make entertaining easier
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- Figure 29: Barriers to hosting a party/gathering, April 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 30: Race and Hispanic origin of more cautious and less cautious hosts, April 2020
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- Figure 31: Age distribution of more cautious and less cautious hosts, April 2020
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- Figure 32: Gender and parental status of more cautious and less cautious hosts, April 2020
- Key driver analysis methodology
- Step I. Demographic indicators
- Step II. Behavioral and attitudinal indicators
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- Figure 33: Key drivers of attitudes toward entertaining, April 2020
- Interpretation of results
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- Figure 34: Key drivers of attitudes toward entertaining, April 2020
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