If you’ve ever wondered why kombucha has become popular, you may also wonder how healthy food trends get started. Not surprisingly, a new study has found that social media plays an increasingly big role in influencing consumer decisions about the foods they eat and the brands they buy.
But other factors come into play as well. According to the consumer insights platform Suzy, which does research for some of the biggest brands in the world via a network of U.S. consumers, shoppers aren’t turning to television or blogs for their food choices (sorry Dr. Oz).
Rather, they are more influenced by word-of-mouth and social media, according to the survey. In fact, more consumers, regardless of their health, respond to advice from families and friends more than they do from television.
“These results highlight the power that the collective voice of consumers has in today’s marketplace,” says Matt Britton, CEO of Suzy. It is advice that works in retail trends as well as food trends.
Consumers are most likely to learn about the latest healthy food trends from:
- Facebook – 17 percent
- Instagram – 15 percent
- Friends or family – 13 percent
- Blogs – 8 percent
- Television – 8 percent
However, non-healthy eaters get more of their advice from Facebook or family and friends:
- Facebook – 20 percent
- Friends or Family – 19 percent
- Instagram – 10 percent
- Online News Sources – 10 percent
- Television – 10 percent
“When social networks play a larger role in alerting consumers to healthy food trends than traditional media outlets you can see how important it is to create products, packaging, brands and advertisements that truly resonate with your target audience and inspire them to share the information with others,” Britton says.
The survey was conducted online within the United States by Suzy in February.
Source: Suzy – www.suzy.com
