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THE BIGGEST CHANGE IN THE AMERICAN DIET IN THE '90s?...WOULD YOU BELIEVE SOFT DRINKS!

5/23/2004

What's the hottest trend at tables across America? In the '80s and early '90s, we reached for better-for-us, easier-for-us foods. Today, the big news isn't what we're eating, but what we're drinking. Carbonated soft drinks are the fastest growing food / beverage category served at home and in restaurants thus far during the 1990s. This is one of the key findings from The NPD Group's Twelfth Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America.

"Since 1990, no other product has made its way into our diet as much as carbonated soft drinks," confirms NPD Vice President Harry Balzer, who has been tracking Americans' eating habits for the firm for more than 18 years. "No other product even comes close to matching the increased consumption of this category."

In 1990, the average American consumed soft drinks on 83 different occasions during the year. In 1997, he or she poured 102 glasses of this beverage...19 more 'drinkings' for every man, woman and child than seven years ago.
NPD data show that this increase in soda consumption is four times more than that of any other food or beverage item.

What is behind the increase? "Long-term shifts in consumer behavior tend to reflect a savings in money or time," explains Balzer. "While it's hard to imagine that drinking soft drinks can save you time, even though they are 'ready to drink,' a trip to the local grocery will show that ounce for ounce, they are certainly one of the most economical beverages. Furthermore, our data merely reflects whether a drinking took place and not the amount being consumed and the fact that this category has certainly gone through size inflation. What once was a large drink is now a regular or even a small size."

Consumers' focus on price may also help explain the decade's second fastest growing food / beverage category...tap water! When eating out in 1997, people drank tap water at about one out of every 10 lunches or dinners. Proving price is key, bottled water was consumed at less than one percent of restaurant lunches / dinners last year.

Based on information provided by a representative sample of nearly 13,000 American households, NPD's Twelfth Annual Report on Eating Patterns in America is a comprehensive overview of what today's consumer is eating and drinking. It is based on information compiled in two NPD databases: National Eating Trends® and CREST®. NPD's National Eating Trends service has been continuously tracking the eating habits of Americans since 1980 via an annual sample of 2,000 households who report all foods and beverages consumed during a two week period. NPD's CREST service has been monitoring restaurant usage since 1975 through a representative sample of households who record all foods and beverages purchased at commercial restaurants during a two week period four times a year.

About The NPD Group, Inc.

The NPD Group is an international marketing information company headquartered in Port Washington, NY. Founded in 1953, the firm specializes in providing consumer and retail sales tracking and custom research for a wide range of industries and is the founder of Media Metrix, Inc., the PC Meter® company. NPD is the tenth largest market research firm in the U.S. based upon 1996 revenues, according to the American Marketing Association's Honomichl 50.
The firm has offices and affiliations in 33 countries, covering North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

For Additional Information Contact:

Harry Balzer
(847) 692-1704
Leslie Singer
(516) 625-2302