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September 1993
Background and Project Objectives
Demand for food products is generally influenced by prices,
income, other demographic characteristics and lifestyles.
For instance, more women in the work force, which
increases household income but reduces time for shopping
and food preparation, has increased demand for value-added
products, among other things. Similarly, a changing
ethnic mix and a generally aging population in Canada
and elsewhere have contributed to new patterns in
the kinds of foods demanded, for example, an increased
demand for a variety of ethnic foods and more healthy
and nutritious foods.
The fact that consumers are more conscious and concerned
about health and nutrition is undisputed. Consumption
of foods that are perceived to be healthy is steadily
on the increase. A recent edition of Food in Canada
reported fresh vegetable consumption increasing from
83.8 pounds to 125.1 pounds per capita between 1970
and 1989. This represents an increase of almost 50%
over the twenty-year period. These grains have come
partly at the expense of canned vegetables, where
per capita consumption declined from 17.9 pounds to
11.6 pounds over the same period. "It is expected
that, by the year 2000, consumption of fresh and chilled
foods will increase by 100%, frozen foods by 25% and
the consumption of canned food will decline by 25%".
"The explosion of interest in healthy eating presents
tremendous opportunities for our food and beverage
industries.. This opportunity is further enhanced
by a move to more home consumption, and a move away
from dining out. These trends suggest there is market
potential for tasty, healthy convenience meals, which
will provide new market opportunities for fruits,
vegetables and related industries.
The key to identifying these opportunities is understanding
the marketplace. Market research can play a vital
role in developing an understanding of the changing
needs of consumers. Research on the Nova Scotia food
consumer, however, has historically been limited,
resulting in a void in consumer information specific
to Nova Scotia.
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