Food brands
Trending brands among young consumers include those making plant-based and functional foods with added benefits like nootropics and adaptogens. There is a concentration amongst modern food brands on gut health, protein and energy foods.
Food and drink market research
Extensive recruitment capabilities for food manufacturers, beverage companies, restaurants, food delivery companies and supermarkets. Our team is experienced in recruiting consumers, B2B and technology users for food and drink market research in most major global markets.
50+ food & drink projects completed
7 years of experience in food & drink
1000+ food & drink respondents recruited
Food and drink
Food and drink industry
The global food and drink market is an estimated $7-9 trillion in revenue, representing between 16-20% of global GDP. Food & drink accounts for around 90% of global sales of fast-moving consumer goods (with the other 10% consisting of non-food items such as personal care and cleaning products).
The largest markets are China and the USA, with India a distant third, although India is expected to see the highest growth of any major market, driven by rapid expansion of the middle classes. The top five food and drink markets in Europe are collectively worth around the same as the US market, which has a similar total population. Despite global growth, increased consumer awareness of health and environmental impacts, a trend for natural ingredients, and shifting regulations may pose some challenges for the industry’s manufacturers and retailers.
In the UK, food and drink is the largest segment of the manufacturing sector and supports nearly 500,000 jobs. Despite a big fall in exports to the EU since Brexit, driven by new regulatory costs, red tape, and paperwork, the overall level of exports has remained roughly the same as exports to non-EU countries have increased.
FieldworkHub regularly carries out market research projects in the food & drink sector, including in-home user tests, supervised taste tests at central locations, consumer shop-alongs, app usability tests and focus groups with purchasers of particular products.
Trending topics
Trending market research areas in the food and drink industry
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Although alcohol is less popular with Millennial and Gen Z audiences than with previous generations, there is interest in zero alcohol drinks, functional drinks such as prebiotics, probiotics and drinks infused with vitamins and minerals.
Restaurants
With younger audiences, there has been a big increase in demand for immersive dining experiences and themed menus and dining events. Concept restaurants, which intentionally provide an online shareability factor for diners, are also popular.
Food delivery services
The growth in mobile delivery continues, with the leading mobile apps in every market now expanding the delivery model beyond restaurants into other fast moving consumer goods such as groceries, over-the-counter medicines and personal care products.
Key audiences
Key audiences for food and drink market research
Grocery shoppers
We’ve recruited families from large UK cities for in-home interviews on grocery store preferences, and Belgian beer drinkers (drinking alcoholic or 0% beer) for depth interviews.
Users of food delivery apps
We’ve set up online depth interviews with users of food delivery apps in Germany, Canada, Japan, and arranged focus groups with lapsed users of food delivery services in Spain.
Food enthusiasts & home cooks
Our team has recruited home-cooks in Indonesia and China for an OBB, air-fryer users in 4 EU markets for depth interviews, and home soda maker users in Germany and the USA for online IDIs.
Health-conscious consumers
The FieldworkHub team has arranged focus groups with users of probiotic supplements and nutrition monitoring apps and conducted surveys with French health food consumers.
Organic & speciality food buyers
Our team has facilitated ethnographies with purchasers of organic food and specific dairy brands, and focus groups with meat-eaters, vegans and vegetarians on their opinions of various diets.
Restaurant owners & managers
We have recruited participants for menu tasting ethnographies at a UK seafood restaurant, and depth interviews with quick service restaurant diners in France, Germany and Switzerland.
Ready to plan your next food and drink market research project?
FieldworkHub provides local support and participant recruitment for both qualitative and quantitative research projects; so every element of your brief is executed with precision.
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Qualitative research
What types of qualitative research does FieldworkHub conduct in the food and drink sector?
If you are looking to gather detailed insights into experiences, perceptions, and patterns of behaviour in the food & drink industries, a qualitative research methodology could be the right choice. Qualitative methods of research explore the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’, providing important contextual information behind how decisions are made.
Food and drink Focus groups
Focus groups allow participants to combine experiences and perspectives to explore ideas in depth. Commonly used during creative and conceptual development, they help you understand your customers’ needs, perceptions, and beliefs.
Food and drink in-depth interviews
In-depth interviews (IDIs), where a moderator interviews a single respondent, can be conducted face-to-face, online, or over the phone. They are ideal for B2B research and for exploring delicate subjects with consumers and hard-to-reach groups.
Food and drink Ethnographies
Ethnographic research is a qualitative research method in which the researchers observe participants using a product or service, or carrying out other activities, in their own environment, typically at work or at home.
Food and drink Online bulletin boards
An online bulletin board (OBB) is an online forum for qualitative market research that enables participants to log into to carry out research tasks or reply to questions asked by a moderator at their own pace, typically over a period of a few days.
Food and drink Online communities
A market research online community (MROC) is similar to an online bulletin board (OBB). However, unlike an OBB, on online community may be used to serve multiple purposes, and the community may remain active for weeks, months or even years.
Food and drink UX testing
User experience (UX) testing is a qualitative research methodology which involves directly observing and interviewing a participant using a product or service. It is widely used for testing new versions of apps and websites before they are launched.
Food and drink CX testing
Customer experience (CX) testing evaluates how customers interact with a product, service, or digital platform. It helps identify usability issues and overall satisfaction to improve the customer journey and ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience.
Food and drink Video surveys
A video survey is a type of unmoderated qualitative research in which survey takers respond to a series of instructions or questions by making short videos using their smartphone, either in ‘selfie’ mode or to record an activity.
Food and drink vox pops
Vox pop research involves making recordings of people, usually members of the public, responding to questions. These clips are often used in research to illustrate public opinion on widely known topics, brands, or products.
Quantitative research
What types of quantitative research does FieldworkHub conduct in the food and drink sector?
If you are looking to develop a general picture of a particular topic, product, or service in the food & drink industry, quantitative research methodologies can help you gain objective insights from your target audience. Usually the results are numerical, which can be helpful in identifying patterns, averages, and creating statistics.
Food and drink Online surveys
Online surveys are a cost-effective research method with great flexibility in design. Automated data handling allows the results to be available quickly and many online surveys can be completed on smartphones, helping to improve the response rate.
Food and drink CATI
CATI (computer-assisted telephone interviewing) leverages technology to reach those who aren’t online. CATI interviews follow an electronic script with built in routing and type in the respondent’s answers to each question as the interview proceeds.
Food and drink CAPI
CAPI (computer-assisted personal interviewing) is a form of face-to-face interviewing where the interviewer reads the survey questions from a tablet device and inputs the respondent’s answers directly to the device.
Case studies
Case studies of food and drink research
From online in-depth interviews to in-person focus groups, we’ve delivered a wide range of qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methodology research projects within the food & drink industry. Our work spans diverse audiences and industries, so you can count on us to uncover the insights you need.
Depth interviews: drinkers of clear spirits, South Africa
Our client wanted to conduct 30-minute online interviews with South African consumers who purchase clear spirits to understand their brand preferences and views about the brands and test out some marketing concepts that they were developing. We recruited and screened over 20 respondents and arranged interviews with them for our client.
F2F focus groups: meat consumption, UK
A Veterinary University in the UK asked us to recruit 36 respondents with differing diets to gain a better understanding on attitudes to meat consumption and the influences of public policy on their diets. We successfully recruited for six in-person focus groups about recent changes to public policy on poultry and farming conditions.
Face-to-face IDIs: raki drinks, Germany
Our client wanted to conduct interviews with Turkish migrants in Germany who regularly purchase raki drinks to understand more about their brand and how widely recognised their brand name was. We provided project management of the fieldwork process, including finding and booking suitable facilities and recruitment.
In-person workshop and online IDIs: pub experiences, UK
We explored brand perception and attitudes in London and Nottingham for a well-known pub brand, gathering insights from existing and potential new customers in both urban and suburban areas through a series of in-person workshops and online depth interviews.
OBB, IDIs: breakfast cereal consumers, UK
A well-known breakfast and snacks company asked FieldworkHub to assist with research into repositioning their brand from a fitness to a well-being brand. We recruited respondents in the UK for interviews and an online bulletin board; and successfully re-contacted eight respondents for a follow-up interviews.
Vox pops: squash drinkers, 4 markets
We supported a well-known soft drinks brand by collecting vox pop recordings to explore squash (concentrated fruit drink) preferences and brand awareness in the UK, Ireland, Brazil, and France. The participants that we recruited included representatives of Gen Z, Gen Y (Millennials), Gen X and older demographics.
Got questions?
Frequently Asked Questions
As consultants in the research space, we’ve got the answers. And if there’s anything left unanswered, drop us an email or give the team a call. We’d be happy to help.
1
How does conducting market research benefit the food & drink industry?
Conducting market research can help food & drink brands to reveal insights on consumer behaviour, preferences and purchasing patterns. For new product launches, FieldworkHub have experience arranging research to assess brand awareness, positioning and value perception. Market research can help your product to find its target audience in a competitive food & drink landscape.
2
Can you support in-person and at-home market research?
Yes, FieldworkHub are able to support requests for in-person taste testing research and we also are experienced in managing the shipment and testing of products in the comfort of a participant’s home. We have also conducted in-facility requests for freshly cooked products and arranged for the storage of perishable food & drink products.
3
Do you conduct research on product testing for food and beverages?
FieldworkHub has conducted numerous research projects on user testing different types of food and drink across multiple markets. For example, we have assisted with Gen Alpha consumers tasting sweets in the US, coffee syrup in London, vegetarian burgers in Switzerland and plenty more spanning location, age demographic, and product type.
4
Can you support research on packaging, labelling, and in-store decision-making?
FieldworkHub has successfully assisted in research with both packaging and in-store decision-making. We assisted with shop-alongs in Switzerland to understand habits of food shopping habits and we have assisted in product packaging for food and non-food items across several markets including the UK, Germany, and the US.
Looking to conduct market research in the food and drink sector?
Contact our feasibility specialists to discuss your specific research needs and how we can help you gain deeper insights on food and drink in 60 global markets.
