Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Weight remains an issue for Irish children
- Parents struggling on kids portion sizes
- Soft drinks a significant source of sugar for children
- New rules will make it harder for food and drink brands to reach children in UK
- Companies, brands and innovations
- The consumer
- Children encouraged to snack on fresh fruit and vegetables
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- Figure 1: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Greater variety on kid’s menus important to Irish parents
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- Figure 2: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Regular exercise important for children’s health
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- Figure 3: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Irish parents prefer sweet-free checkouts
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- Figure 4: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, NI and RoI, November 2016
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- What are parents doing to improve children’s eating habits at home?
- The facts
- The implications
- What can the foodservice industry do to boost their appeal to families?
- The facts
- The implications
- What steps are important to improving children’s health and diet?
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Childhood obesity continues to be an issue in Ireland
- Children are overeating
- Sugar taxes are coming
- Legislation to make it harder for brands to reach children in the UK
Market Drivers
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- Weight issues continue to affect children
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- Figure 5: Obesity levels in children aged 2-15, NI, 2012-16
- Under-5s in RoI the heaviest in Europe
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- Figure 6: Percentage of under-5s classed as overweight or obese, EU, 2015
- Children eating more than they need
- Inactivity prevalent among Irish children
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- Figure 7: Physical activity levels of children aged 0-18, RoI, 2010
- RoI launches its first physical activity programme to tackle obesity
- Consumers with children eat from scratch but time pressures make it hard to eat healthily
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- Figure 8: Agreement with statements relating to healthy eating, by age of children in household, NI, August 2016
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- Figure 9: Agreement with statements relating to healthy eating, RoI, August 2016
- Figure 10: Eating time on an average day in minutes, OECD countries, 2006
- Despite recent fall, children still drinking too much sugary soft drinks
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- Figure 11: Average daily intake of sugar-sweetened drinks among consumers aged 4-10, UK (including NI), 2008/10 and 2012/14
- Sugar taxes to be introduced for soft drinks
- UK introduces new restrictions on junk food ads
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Children’s snacks see largest NPD levels in 2016
- Fruit snacks for children see strong growth
- Producers reducing additives in children’s food and drink
Who’s Innovating?
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- Snacks leading children’s food NPD
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- Figure 12: New food and drink product launches targeting children*, by top 10 categories, UK and Ireland, 2012-16
- Fruit snacks dominate NPD in 2016
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- Figure 13: New food and drink product launches targeting children*, by top 10 sub-categories, UK and Ireland, 2012-16
- Brands taking out additives and preservatives from children’s food
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- Figure 14: Food and drink targeting children, by top 10 product claims, UK and Ireland, 2012-16
- Manufacturers continue to focus on sugar reduction
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- Figure 15: Food and drink targeting children, by health claims, UK and Ireland, 2012 and 2016
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Parents encourage healthy snacking but have no problem with occasional sweet treats
- Parents looking for more variety on children’s menus
- Regular exercise a key aspect to improving children’s health and diet
- Irish parents prefer sweet-free checkouts
The Consumer – Children’s Eating Habits at Home
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- Children encouraged to snack on fruit and vegetables
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- Figure 16: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, NI and RoI, November 2016
- RoI parents cooking meals from scratch
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- Figure 17: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Women most likely to scratch cook children’s meals
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- Figure 18: Agreement with the statement ‘I prefer to prepare my children's meals from scratch in order to control ingredients’, by gender and social class, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Women giving children occasional sweet treats
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- Figure 19: Agreement with the statement ‘I have no problem giving my children sweet treats every now and again’ by gender, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Children encouraged to snack on fruit
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- Figure 20: Agreement with the statement ‘I encourage my child(ren) to snack on fresh fruit and/or vegetables’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 21: Agreement with the statement ‘I encourage my child(ren) to snack on fresh fruit and/or vegetables’, by presence of children in the household, by social class, NI and RoI, November 2016
The Consumer – Children’s Eating Habits Out of the Home
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- Parents looking for variety on kid’s menus
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- Figure 22: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Parents with older children looking for greater variety on kid’s menus
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- Figure 23: Agreement with the statement ‘I think children's menus need more variety’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, NI and RoI, November 2016
- ABC1s looking for a greater variety of healthier options on kid’s menus
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- Figure 24: Agreement with the statements ‘I think children's menus need more healthy options’, by social class, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Family-oriented restaurants appeal to married consumers
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- Figure 25: Agreement with the statement ‘I pick restaurants suited for families/children’, by marital status, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Women want kids portion sizes at restaurants
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- Figure 26: Agreement with the statements ‘I think restaurants should offer a range of portion sizes for children of different sizes/ages’, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2016
The Consumer – Steps Considered Important to Improving Children’s Health
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- Exercise important for improving children’s health and diet
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- Figure 27: Steps that consumers feel that are important to improve their children’s health and diet, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Regular exercise an important part for teenage children’s diets
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- Figure 28: Consumers who feel regular exercise is important to improving children’s health and diet, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Appropriate portions for kids seen as beneficial
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- Figure 29: Consumers who feel giving kids appropriate portion sizes is important to improving children’s health and diet, by gender, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Avoiding sugar important for less affluent parents
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- Figure 30: Consumers feel that avoiding foods that are high in sugar is important to improving children’s health and diet, by social class, NI and RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 31: Food and drink targeting children claiming to be low, no, reduced sugar, sodium and fat, UK and Ireland, 2012-16
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Children and Grocery Shopping
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- Irish parents prefer checkouts with no sweets
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- Figure 32: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Sweet-free checkouts appeal most to Irish men
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- Figure 33: Agreement with the statement ‘I would prefer that sweets were not on sale at the checkout/tills’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, November 2016
- Colourful packaging and cartoon characters’ appeal to young children
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- Figure 34: Agreement with the statement ‘My children are attracted to products with colourful packaging/feature a cartoon character’, by presence of children in the household, NI and RoI, November 2016
- NI parents least likely to enjoy shopping with their children
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- Figure 35: Agreement with the statement ‘I enjoy going shopping with my child(ren)’, by social class, NI, November 2016
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- Figure 36: Agreement with the statement ‘I avoid going shopping with my child(ren)’, by social class, RoI, November 2016
- Free healthy snack schemes appeal to one-parent households
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- Figure 37: Agreement with the statement ‘Schemes such as free healthy snacks (eg fruit) in-store for children would influence which grocery store I use’, by marital status, NI and RoI, November 2016
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Consumer
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- NI Toluna data
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- Figure 38: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, NI, November 2016
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- Figure 39: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 40: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 41: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, NI, November 2016
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- Figure 42: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 43: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 44: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, NI, November 2016
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- Figure 45: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 46: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 47: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, NI, November 2016
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- Figure 48: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 49: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, NI, November 2016 (continued)
- RoI Toluna data
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- Figure 50: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 51: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 52: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits while at home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 53: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 54: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 55: Agreement with statements relating to children’s eating habits outside of the home, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 56: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 57: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 58: Steps that consumers feel are important to improve their children’s health and diet, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 59: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, RoI, November 2016
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- Figure 60: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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- Figure 61: Agreement with statements relating to children and grocery shopping, by demographics, RoI, November 2016 (continued)
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