The document summarizes key findings from a survey of over 1,000 UK shoppers on their attitudes towards health and understanding of health messages. It finds that while three-quarters claim to be eating healthily, only a third exercise weekly. Most shoppers and their families are overweight. Nutrition labels are confusing and shoppers rely on simple cues like calories and fat content. Healthy foods are perceived as more expensive.

1. Health & Product Information -
2014
Shoppers’ Attitudes Towards
Health & and their
Understanding of Health
Messages
Evolution Insights Ltd
Prospect House
32 Sovereign Street
Leeds
LS1 4BJ
Tel: 0113 336 6000
http://www.evolution-insights.com
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2. Disclaimer
Please note
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior written consent of Evolution Insights Ltd.
The content of this report is based on information gathered in
good faith from both primary and secondary sources and is
believed to be correct at the time of publication. Evolution
Insights can however provide no guarantee regarding the
accuracy of this content and therefore accepts no liability
whatsoever for any actions taken that subsequently prove
incorrect.
© Evolution Insights Ltd 2014
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3. About Evolution Insights
Evolution offer a range of products &
services for clients in the field of shopper
research:
Off-the-shelf research
Evolution’s off the shelf research
publications deliver affordable insight into
shopper motivation and behaviours in UK
food, drink and grocery
Insight Plus
Insight Plus offers your business the
opportunity to engage in any of our regular
shopper research projects in advance of
publication, tailoring the scope to suit your
needs
Bespoke Consulting
As publishers of research, we are able to
draw upon a wealth of existing proprietary
data for consulting projects – helping to
better inform and shape any further
research requirements
Our research and analysis helps clients develop targeted
shopper marketing initiatives designed to influence
shoppers at the point of purchase.
We use a range of research methodologies to discover
genuine insights. Our research incorporates a broad
spectrum of robust qualitative and quantitative research
techniques.
As a leading publisher of shopper research, we are ideally
placed to offer your business actionable shopper insight.
Evolution is a leading research consultancy
specialising in shopper motivation and
behaviour. We deliver off-the-shelf, tailored
and bespoke research for manufacturers,
retailers and agencies.
Sign up for Shopper Trend Report, our free monthly newsletter
offering analysis and commentary on topical shopper issues.
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4. Contents
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Key Findings
Secondary Research
Introduction
Specific Dietary Needs – Definitions
Guideline Daily Amounts
Government Recommendations
Diet Trends – Top 5 Talked about Diets of 2013
Smoking and Alcohol Abuse in the UK
Top Rated Diet & Fitness Apps
Government Regulations for Food & Drinks Packaging
Sugar & Sugar Alternatives
Superfoods
Advertising & Initiatives for Families
Retailer Propositions
Tesco
Sainsbury’s
Asda
Morrisons
Shoppers’ Health
Introduction
Shopper Attitudes Towards Health 2013-2014
Shopper Attitudes Towards Health 2013-2014-Gender
Shoppers’ State of Health
Shoppers’ Exercise Habits
Relaxed Attitude Towards Health & Fitness
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Shoppers and their Families
Overweight
Underweight
Calorie Controlled Diet
Vegetarian and Vegan
Hypertension & Diabetes
Summary
Drivers of Healthy Choices
Drivers of Choice – Gender
Drivers of Choice – Male
Drivers of Choice – Female
Summary
Consumption Change
Consuming More
Consuming Less
Shopper Attitudes Towards Alcohol
Shopper Attitudes Towards Caffeine
Calorie Counting
Cholesterol
Nutrition Labels
Introduction
Understanding Nutritional Information
Labels & Confusion
Nutritional Labels – What do Shoppers Look at?
Nutritional Components – Most Important
Health Claims & Regulations
Which Terms do Shoppers Perceive to be Healthy?
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5. Contents
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Product Comparison
Nutritional Components
Nutritional Components – Gender
Health Claims by Gender – Female
Health Claims by Gender – Male
Nutrition Labels & Product Comparison – Summary
The Price of Health
Introduction
The Cost of Healthy Eating
Shopper Spend – Themselves & their Family
Categories, Retailers & 5-a-Day
Introduction
Healthiest Retailer
5 Fruit/Vegetables a Day
What Contributes to your 5-a-Day?
5 Fruit/Vegetables a Day – What Counts?
5 Fruit/Vegetables a Day – What Counts?
Shopper Perceptions of Category Health
Shopper Perceptions of Category Health
Categories, Retailers & 5-a-Day – Summary
Superfoods
Introduction
Shopper Awareness
Characteristics of a Superfood
Methodology
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6. Introduction
The World Health Organisation defines Health as:
‘A state of complete physical, mental and social well-
being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity’.
The UK obesity epidemic has increased over the past 8
years with an average of just 36% of shoppers falling
into a healthy body mass index range of between 18.5-
25. Since 2001 there has been 11x more hospital
admissions for obesity related illness.
According to NHS statistics around a quarter of adults
consume the recommended 5 portions a day of fruit
and vegetables, and alarmingly only 20% of children.
The word
‘Health’ is
derived from
‘hale’ meaning
‘wholeness,
being sound
and well’.
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7. Guideline Daily Amounts
The table above shows the government guidelines
for men, women and children. These numbers are
just an average and nutritional requirements can
be more varied based on the height, weight and
amount of physical activity undertaken by the
individual.
Calories Protein Carbs Sugars Fat Saturates Fibre Salt
2500Kcal 55g 300g 120g 95g 30g 24g 6g
2000Kcal 45g 230g 90g 70g 20g 24g 6g
1800Kcal 24g 220g 85g 70g 20g 15g 4g
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8. Sugar & Sugar Alternatives
The World Health Organisation has called for shoppers to decrease their sugar
intake by Half , this equates to six teaspoons per day.
The World Health Organisation blames the consumption of free sugars in both and
for increases
in calorie intake.
Some products are now being made using sugar alternatives such as Stevia or zero calorie
sweeteners. An example of this is
The World Health Organisation has approved the use of stevia, aspartame, saccharin and sucralose in
food and drinks. Advocates of sugar alternatives believe that educating shoppers on the topic of healthy
eating is not working. Therefore, finding a way to modify foods that shoppers like would be a better
alternative. Some shoppers are turning to natural sugars in products like honey, however critics
discuss how sugars (either natural or granulated) are processed the same
way by the body.
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9. Superfoods
S U P E R F O O D S
The definition of Superfoods are products rich in vitamins
and nutrients, many are seen to have extra benefits such
as preventing illness and disease.
Superfoods are dismissed as a marketing ploy by some
medical experts, despite encouraging shoppers to
consume the products.
On the Menu
Blueberries
Kiwifruit
Beans & Whole
grains
Nuts & Seeds
Kale & Chard
Salmon, Sardines &
Mackerel
Exotic Fruits
And more…
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10. Tesco has launched it’s new ‘healthy living’ brand this year to
replace Light Choices and Eat Live Enjoy. The range consists
of 230 products which have reduced amounts of salt, sugar,
fat and saturated fat.
Healthy living can be divided into 2 subcategories:
Healthy Living – Big on Taste, Lower in Calories – for those
looking to lose weight. All products contain at least 30%
fewer calories than the comparison product.
Healthy Living – Beautifully Balanced – for those trying to
maintain their weight or wanting to make healthier choices
for themselves and their families.
Retailer Proposition - Tesco
Responsibility Deal
Tesco have pledged to help improve the health of its
customers and employees by using clear labelling and
reducing salt, fat and calories. The retailer is also providing
variation when it comes to point of sale merchandising
,replacing confectionary with a mixed selection of items such
as snack bars.
Tesco is celebrating the 10th
year of it’s free from range in
2014. The range includes
gluten & wheat free, milk
free, egg free and dairy free
Realfood.tesco.com
provides an
expanse of tools
including recipes,
meal planner,
videos and info
graphics.
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11. Shoppers that Indicated they were Eating Healthily by Month (2013-14).
Shopper Attitudes Towards Health 2013-2014
%
2013
2014
PostChristmasincrease
Remained higher
longer than
previous year
75 73 73 72 71 71 71 70
67 65
77 77 77
71
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
February
March
April
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From Evolution Monthly Shopper Survey

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30
22
4
33
Every day At least three
times a week
At least once a
week
Once a fortnight Less than once a
fortnight
Shoppers’ Exercise Habits
Moderate exercise here is defined as exercise where your
heart rate raises and you break a sweat. 63% of
shoppers say they do moderate exercise at least once a
week but a third (37%) do so once a fortnight or less.
How often shoppers do moderate exercise
The NHS recommends 150
minutes of exercise per week
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13. Overweight
One or more of my children are
overweight 5%
I am overweight 59%
My partner is overweight 28%
I am overweight 51%
My partner is overweight 32%
Shoppers that say that they and/or members of their families are overweight
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14. Drivers by Gender - Male
30%
17%
41%
36%
35%
22%
2%
14%
6%
What are the drivers for men when making healthy purchases?
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15. Shopper Attitudes Towards Caffeine
20%
Of shoppers are actively trying to reduce
their caffeine intake
There is an even spread between both genders when it
comes to reducing caffeine intake.
Shopper attitudes towards caffeine
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16. Nutrition Labels - Introduction
Since our last health report was released manufacturers and retailers
have been creating a uniform nutrition label, to make it easier for
shoppers to understand what is in their food. The new label is a hybrid of
both traffic light labelling and GDA. In this section take a look at how
(and whether) shoppers use nutrition labels. We examine what individual
factors shoppers look at on a front of pack nutrition label and whether
other cues such as ingredients lists and nutritional information are used
when trying to decide whether a product is healthy or not.
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17. 21%
20%
17%
14%
11%
6%
3%
Healthiest Retailer
Retailers that shoppers think sell the healthiest products (not restricted to
shoppers of those retailers)
42% of shoppers think that
all of the stores are the
same, when it comes to
the healthiness of their
product offering.
Less than 3% of shoppers
scored discounters as
being the healthiest
retailers.
Perceived to be the healthiest
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18. Methodology
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19. Secondary and
desk research
Preliminary
quantitative survey
Main quantitative
survey
Focus groups
Insights
• Evolution carried out a preliminary survey of
around 100 shoppers to test questions for the
main survey.
• Detailed secondary and desk research is
conducted to define the topic area, macro drivers
and trends, scope and examples within the
research topic.
• Initial insights gained are used to help further
design the main survey.
• A main survey is completed by at least 1,000 UK
adults who are the primary household shopper for
food & grocery.
• Focus groups are carried out to further enhance
the secondary research and main quantitative
survey.
• Comprehensive and detailed assessment of all the
data received was then used to uncover insights.
• Throughout this process, primary research was
supported by secondary research drawing on
Evolution’s proprietary databases, national
statistics, news and industry resources.
Methodology
Evolution’s methodology
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20. Methodology: Quantitative Research - Survey
Shoppers’ perception of the cost of healthy foods
How shoppers decide whether a product is healthy
Drivers for buying healthy products
Exercise habits of shoppers
Shoppers’ understanding of healthiness of products
What shoppers perceive as healthy eating
How healthy shoppers are in their own opinion
Shoppers’ attitudes to health and healthy eating
Demographic profiling
Topics of questions in quantitative survey
• Detailed shopper insights were
gained from a survey of 1,026
primary shoppers. The samples
were fully representative of the UK
population.
• The survey contained 25 questions
relating to topics outlined to the
left – in addition to standard
demographic profiling questions
• The questions were designed to
give maximum insight into
shopper’s motivation and
behaviour
• Additional questions were asked to
give further insights into general
behaviour and attitudes into price
comparisons.
• The survey was carried out during
the week commencing 22nd April
2014.
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21. Contact Us
Evolution Insights Ltd
Prospect House
32 Sovereign Street
Leeds
LS1 4BJ
Telephone: 0113 336 6000
e-mail: insights@evolution-insights.com
Web: http://www.evolution-insights.com
Company No. 07006001
Country of Incorporation: United Kingdom
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