The Convenience Consumer and Food-Related Lifestyles in Great Britain

Abstract

As the demand for convenience foods becomes greater, the quality of such products becomes more important. The food-related lifestyle (FRL) instrument, which groups consumers based on their attitudes toward the purchase, preparation and consumption of food products, includes a number of quality aspects, such as health, freshness and taste. The objective of this paper is to investigate the degree to which food-related lifestyle segments are convenience-oriented. A review of the convenience food market in Great Britain found increased participation by women in the workforce, an increase in the number of single and two-person households and a breakdown of traditional mealtimes amongst the main drivers of demand for convenience food. The FRL instrument was reviewed to identify supplemental areas needed to gain a more complete picture of consumers' convenience food-related lifestyles. Measures for these and the FRL instrument were applied in Great Britain in 2002. Investigation of convenience attitudes and purchase behaviour for convenience foods found that three of the six FRL segments identified were convenience-oriented. Differences between segments, relating to the quality aspects, were also found.