The disruption caused by COVID reshaped consumer attitudes towards Health & Wellness, bringing a new focus on mental well-being and self-care. Consumers are now redefining indulgence in their daily lives, shifting from merely voicing a desire for mindful indulgence to actively changing their behaviors.
Our research aimed to decode modern indulgence—understanding its drivers and how we can deliver it through food and beverage.
We tapped consumers across 17 countries with an online quantitative survey designed to uncover:
What we discovered were four distinct need states, driven by 13 key motivations, revealing a clear understanding of the types of indulgence consumers seek in different contexts.
We also identified how indulgent behaviors vary across categories—snacks, beverages, bakery, confections, dairy, culinary, and bars—giving us a precise roadmap for innovation in the indulgence space, tailored by region and category and matching consumer trends.
Only a fraction of new products achieve market success. In mature categories like North American bars, a successful concept is often familiar with a twist.
Discovering twists that fill current gaps, address tensions, and meet unmet needs requires deep insight into the product usage moment and the creativity to reimagine new possibilities.
We integrated three key elements to shape our approach to new product design in the North American bars category: a unique behavioral method called ‘Moments Landscaping,’ expertise in user-centered concept creation, and deliberate creative thinking techniques powered by generative AI.
Through Moments Landscaping, we used a story-based approach to uncover the specific behaviors driving bar consumption, identifying key moments of opportunity. We then gathered extensive data within each moment to guide our innovation process.
From our research, five key Moments of Opportunity emerged. Using these moments as a foundation for concept generation, we collaborated with our team to align these insights with current consumer and market trends.
By leveraging our extensive ingredient portfolio, we identified clear innovation opportunities that our customers can incorporate into their brands.
The No/Low alcohol beverage market is projected to be worth USD 23 billion in 2023, with an expected CAGR of 6% from 2023 to 2027.
Our customers are eager to tap into this growth and frequently look to us for inspiration through our unique perspective and forward-looking insights.
To assess this challenge, we leveraged our robust trend intelligence framework, Panoptic, along with our social listening capabilities to analyze the implications of rapidly evolving lifestyle trends and their impact on the future of the No/Low alcohol beverage category.
What we uncovered in this process were five key movements that will significantly influence the category.
Along with these consumer insights, we provided insight-led inspiration through market signals and newly developed concepts tailored to each movement.
Bring your vision to life with IFF’s expertise in food and beverage innovation. Together, we can turn bold ideas into groundbreaking solutions.