Consumer Behavior and Pricing Trends

There have been several consumer behavior trends in the food and beverage industry that has influenced the current market. One trend is the concern consumers have towards their health and fitness. Consumers have been buying many products that are diet, calorie free, and organic. It is a trend that is changing what the market should be focusing on. For example, companies such as General Mills has been promoting its multi-grain cheerios as well as other cereal brands such as Wheaties, that are made out of whole-grain wheat, Fiber One and Nature Valley that put emphasis on being natural and healthy for the body.

Another market trend is the the rise of importance of technology. Companies have been approaching their marketing strategies through a whole different dimension. Technology has created a new world of food and beverage distribution in the world. Consumers have never used smart phones as they have used now. Companies have been using apps to help attract consumers to their products. Kraft Inc. has created and app that gives consumers healthy recipes that include brands that they sell. This is a promotion for Kraft’s products and is a way to help consumers buy certain brands, and therefore create an interactive relationship with the consumer to create brand loyalty. This trend is still on the rise and is looking to develop to help companies help the buyer buy.

As for pricing trends, there has been a main concern in the rise of prices in both the food and the beverage industry. Because there has been a rise in the prices of oil, production prices of food and beverage have also rose. This is a concern because it is a fact that oil prices will keep on rising in the future. This trend has allowed consumers to think twice before they buy meat or buy an alcoholic drink because of the rise of the prices. However, for the upper class, this has not been a concern for them, but sometimes yet, allows them to buy more of it because it may be considered as a luxury. As the prices get higher, consumers will still need to buy food and beverage products due to the in-elasticity of the market. People are in need of food and will still buy products from the market.