Understanding consumers

Inspired ideas

Where do we get new ideas for our brands? They all spring from the inspiration: consumers' needs, tastes and lifestyles.

What consumers want is changing all the time. Around the world there are also huge cultural differences in people's attitudes towards food. When it comes to developing our brands, we learn from all these shades and nuances, and aim to provide options that reflect people's diverse tastes and lifestyles. 

Our consumer research tells us one key thing: people have higher expectations than ever from the foods they buy. Taste, nutrition and convenience now have to come in the same package. 

And in developing countries we make a difference by fortifying basic foods to provide additional nutrients. Examples include Annapurna salt with added iodine (Africa and India), Maizena porridge (Colombia), and vitamin-enriched Rama margarine (South Africa). In (Pakistan) Blue band margarine with 7 essential vitamins, Flora rich with heart healthy Omega 3 and 6. Moo ice cream with calcium equal to 1 glass of milk.

How we are is how we eat

Diet and healthy living are hot topics right now. But over many years we've built up a unique understanding of people's feelings towards food and we keep up to date with how attitudes evolve as the way we all live and work changes. Here are the key issues of the moment:

• In Western Europe, up to 60% of people won't put up with any drop in taste or convenience for the sake of health in their food purchases.
• In Latin America and India, people choose healthy food because they care about family well-being.
• Only one third of US families eat together every evening. 
• The snacking market is growing fast in the US, Europe and Asia.
• In the UK, average cooking time per meal has plummeted from 60 minutes in 1980, to 13 minutes in 2002. 
• People are exercising less and less – and physical inactivity now causes more than 2 million deaths each year.
• The 'super size' phenomenon: portions just keep getting bigger.
• Obesity is also becoming a problem in developing countries.
• The market for healthier foods is growing by more than 10% a year
• In PakistanThirteen percent of Pakistani adults have elevated blood cholesterol.
• In Pakistan 12% of people are suffering from diabetes and 10% have impaired glucose tolerance.
• More than 350,000 people suffer from stroke every year in Pakistan. More than 70% of these stroke patients have high blood pressure. High blood pressure is a major risk factor which is present in more than 30% of the population above the age of 45.