Culture of Food 2015 is a framework for understanding how consumers define premium quality and make decisions about premium products, brands and experiences.

This report is a deep dive into America’s diverse and dynamic food and beverage culture as viewed through the lens of the consumer. It explores the messy and yet-to-be articulated opportunity spaces in our food and beverage culture that are fertile hunting grounds for innovation in products, services and menus.

For more 25 years The Hartman Group has been tracking a fundamental shift in food and beverage culture. People are eating and drinking alone more and snacking more. Our planning horizon for deciding, shopping and preparing foods has compressed to an expectation for “planned spontaneity.” At the same time, many people have elevated expectations about food and beverage experiences, with “foodie” activities infiltrating mainstream eating in uneven ways.

Today, inspiration, whims, stress levels and in-the-moment cravings dictate an increasing number of everyday food and beverage occasions. As consumers outsource the work of food and beverage to others (retailers, food service and manufacturers), they are no longer bound by family food traditions, nor are they limited by personal cooking skills.

With fewer traditional rules to discipline choices and routines, how are people inspired to choose what to eat or drink and whether or not to cook on different occasions? And how does who people are shape how they choose? Culture of Food 2015 provides the answers to these, and many more business critical questions.

View an overview of the report.