FoodNavigator.com came ouit with an interesting follow-up article to this new FDA report, which I wrote about earlier this week.
It talks about the market opportunities for "away-from-home foods," which the FDA describes as food you get at restaurants or prepared food you buy at grocery stores or institutional settings, and other outlets.
Wouldn’t it be nice if wherever you went — be it a ball game, a concert, a play, a movie — you could buy nutritious, packaged foods?
FoodNavigator.com reports:
Market researchers in the health foods sector have been advising food manufacturers to consider convenience as a means to encouraging consumption, since so many people lead on-the-go lifestyles and may not have time for nutritious home-cooked meals or snacks.
Indeed 46 percent of household food budgets in the US are now spent on goods prepared outside the home, according to the FDA. Because per capita spending is projected to rise by 18 percent at full-service restaurants and 6 percent at quick-service establishments between 2000 and 2020, the government has little choice but to stimulate healthy choices for away-from-home meal and snack options.
Food manufacturers, are you listening?
I’ll take the following to go:
- A package of cooked edamame.
- A fresh organic salad, topped with delicious cherry tomatoes (organic).
- A small portion of already grilled free-range chicken.
- Some high-quality water.
- A small side of lemon tahini dressing.
Actually, a place I like to frequent is an unusual, fast-food, health food restaurant in Manhattan, Organic Harvest Cafe.
This is exactly the kind of food consumers should be offered more.