No to $$$ for healthful eating

Americans unwilling to spend more on healthful eating New study shows most Americans don’t want to pay more for healthier menu options
June 8, 2011 | By Paul Frumkin
Americans might be hearing a lot about eating healthier these days, but most say they would not be willing to pay extra for it when dining out, according to a study from The NPD Group.
 
The Port Washington, N.Y.-based marketing research firm found that about 70 percent of consumers — most notably those over 50 who tend to show more interest in healthful foods than younger Americans — said they don’t expect to pay a premium for healthier items when they dine out.
The study, titled “Consumers Define Healthy Eating When they Go Out to Eat,” also said for the year ended in February, 9 percent of all restaurant visits were made based on customers’ craving for healthful or light fare. That marks a decline from 10 percent in 2007.
 
“One of the key takeaways is that pricing of the healthy options needs to be consistent with pricing of other choices on the menu,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst and author of the report. “The market for health today is growing and there is a good opportunity for operators who find a way to offer healthier options at lower price points.”
 
According to NPD, 70 percent of consumers over 50 years old said no when asked if they would be willing to pay more for healthier items at restaurants, while 25 percent said they would be willing to pay somewhat more. Only 5 percent of respondents in that age group were willing to pay a lot more.
About 55 percent of consumers aged 25 to 49 years old said they expected to pay the same price for healthier items as they would for standard menu fare, while 9 percent said they would be inclined to pay a lot more for healthful options.
 
Consumers aged 18 to 24 years old showed the greatest inclination to pay a premium for healthy menu items, with 15 percent saying they would be willing to pay a lot more. About 44 percent of consumers in that age group said they would not pay more.
According to the study, more customers of full-service restaurants said they expected to pay the same price for healthful items as they did for standard menu options, while fewer quick-service patrons said they expected to pay the same.
 
RELATED: Read more about what factors drive health-conscious guests to pay more in "The price of health," from the May 30 issue of Nation's Restaurant News (subscribers only).
Contact Paul Frumkin at paul.frumkin@penton.com.



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Very interesting. I never did think people would pay much more to eat healthier out of the home. If you are going to go out to eat you want to be a little bad and enjoy your meal.

Unless the restaurant is normally just heating up institutionally prepared and frozen products (instead of cooking using ingredients) or they feel that to serve "healthy meals" they must start using "organic" ingredients which do cost more, it shouldn't cost a restaurant any more to prepare a healthy meal than it does to prepare their normal menu.  I think many restaurants are just using this as an excuse to raise their prices on selected items.

One of the restaurants in my town claim they are "organic" - my butt. Very few people really care about it. Their decision to go that route has nearly cost them their business because they reaised their prices so much. They trying to sell it now because they are going under. Bad business decision in my area.

My grandfather used to say "All eating is healthy eating."
 
Healthy, Organic, Locally Sourced, All watch words. When the subjects come up everyone nods in agreement murmuring about responsible production and carbon foot print. When the audience is over they slip into their SUV's and go to the local TGI-apple-agins, and order up some steak in a can delicacy that was produced in a factory. And heated by a nose picking troglodyte with about as much interest in producing a quality meal as he has about washing his hands on the way out of the restroom.
 
Watchwords. Things we pay lip service to and wish we cared about. We are Americans we want live lobster in Idaho and to hell with the carbon footprint.  This Green attitude is all well and good embraced by the Marthas and the Emerils and those of their ilk who can well afford to keep a farmer in college tuition's and Escalades. But not worth tying up our minimum wage earning $$.

WyldeChef

My grandfather used to say "All eating is healthy eating."
Healthy, Organic, Locally Sourced, All watch words. When the subjects come up everyone nods in agreement murmuring about responsible production and carbon foot print. When the audience is over they slip into their SUV's and go to the local TGI-apple-agins, and order up some steak in a can delicacy that was produced in a factory. And heated by a nose picking troglodyte with about as much interest in producing a quality meal as he has about washing his hands on the way out of the restroom. Watchwords. Things we pay lip service to and wish we cared about. We are Americans we want live lobster in Idaho and to hell with the carbon footprint.  This Green attitude is all well and good embraced by the Marthas and the Emerils and those of their ilk who can well afford to keep a farmer in college tuition's and Escalades. But not worth tying up our minimum wage earning $$.

 
Good Post!
Jack

come to ashland. not true.

What's not true? you all dont want live lobster in Ashland? And which Ashland? KY? OH?

I agree with your sentiment wyldechef, but where I live it's really a big enough demographic to cater to. I intend to be as local and organic as possible (stress on local), and I am developing systems to reduce costs in other areas so that it doesn't break the bank. 
 
I think that with the right planning, people don't have to pay more for these products, and it will be interesting to see what happens if I can utilize such ingredients and still keep an attractive price-point. 
 
Ultimately, people identify with their food choices, so what we sell is as much about psychology and crowd behavior as it is about food, recipes, or costs. You won't sell corndogs to hippies any more than you will sell arugula salads to cowboys, it's about knowing you're market, and milking it for all it's worth.