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Portion Sizes & Health

SummaryWith the grip of an obesity crisis, the food we eat – and how much we eat is under significant scrutiny. Eating less is a straightforward solution proposed by some – however reducing portion sizes carries risks for manufacturers, not least of which is the possibility of a media-fuelled consumer backlash. This report examines the reasons for such a move and the risks involved– and (most importantly) what consumers will accept.

YouGov has run in-depth statistical analyses of its data vault to show you:

(1) Their attitudes towards food sizing and ingredients.(2) The effect on brands when they reduce their size (using our

BrandIndex tool).(3) How much their favourite brands can cut down before they stop

buying. (4) Why they stopped buying their favourite brands.

Method

OverviewThis report has been created using in-depth data and analytics collated using YouGov Profiles, YouGov BrandIndex and additional research using the YouGov re-contact service. To create hypotheses to test with the large YouGov datasets and validate findings, YouGov interviewed a total of 1,019 GB adults aged 18+ between 17th January- 23rd January 2017.

About these data sourcesYouGov Profiles is the YouGov connected data vault which holds 190,000 variables collected from the most active 250,000 panellists in GB.

YouGov BrandIndex involves tracking the public perception of brands across the world. It is the authoritative measure of brand perception, monitoring thousands of brands across dozens of sectors. YouGov interview thousands of consumers every day, yielding over 2.5 million interviews a year.

Method continuedThe sheer quantity of data that was analysed for this report makes it impossible to show all of the 1,000s of demographic, attitudinal and behaviour splits that were data mined or the large number of brand metrics analysed. To explore the data further we recommend that you use one of the research tools outlined below.

Further research opportunities. The data tables behind this report are available for £5,000 if you would like to

explore a limited version of the full Profiles data set.

In addition, YouGov can provide in-depth Profiles data of adopters of your products or a cohort Profiles analysis of your consumers against your competitive set.

You can buy a profiles subscription to conduct segmentation and media planning. It allows you to get the profile of your target audience with cross multi-channel data sets with great granularity and accuracy.

In addition, also available is a full BrandIndex subscription which allows you to continuously track brand awareness and perception.

Let YouGov show you the power of connected data and solutions. For a free, no obligation demonstration, contact:

David Ellis+44 20 7012 6216

email: david.ellis@yougov.com

The UK is overweight

The UK is 4th in Europe’s obesity league

6

23.4

24.1

24.2

24.2

24.5

24.7

24.9

26.6

27

28.7

Luxembourg

Spain

Andorra

Bosnia

Ireland

Lithuania

UK

Malta

Slovenia

Czech Republic

Source: The State of Food and Agriculture

57% of the population are overweight

7

0% 0%3%

39%

32%

15%

6%4%

15 or under 15.0 – 16.0 16.1 – 18.5 18.6 – 25.0 25.1 – 30.0 30.1 – 35.0 35.1 – 40.0 40.1 or over

25% are Obese*

*BMI over 30.1

Source: YouGov Health Tracker Survey, Wave 6

26% say…

Added ingredients in food(i.e. added sugar, bad fats etc.) are

contributors to obesity/poor health.

8

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

And food is a factor…

YouGov Profiles can also explore eating habits further, to include segmentations by age, gender, etc. The large sample sizes (up to 250,000 people) means that even low incidence groups can be analysed.

For information see https://yougov.co.uk/find-solutions/profiles/

9

Pounds, not lbs...

10

And costs are making a difference

We are in the midst of ‘shrinkflation’*

11

*where prices remain the same as portion sizes get smaller.

-15.0% -14.2% -6.25%

Source: DailyMail.co.uk

Household favourites are affected

12

Before After Reduction %

Aunt Bessie’s Homestyle Chips

750g 700g 6.7%

Cadbury’s Chocolate fingers

125g 114g 8.8%

Cadbury’s Crème Eggs multipack

6 pack 5 pack 16.7%

Mars Bar 58g 51g 12.1%

Hovis Best of Both bread

800g 750g 6.3%

Kit Kat Chunky 48g 40g 16.7%

Source: DailyMail.co.uk

Brand impression drops when size reduction is noticed

13

Toblerlone size changeSource: BrandIndex (Impression Metric)

You can analyse your own brand and monitor its perception among consumers.

For information see http://www.brandindex.com/

Cut size by 15%, lose a possible 35% of customers…

14

13%

22%

10%

13%14%

4%

1% 1% 0%

2%1%

5% (i.e. if itweighed

100goriginally, it

wouldweigh 95g

after)

10% 15% 20% 25% (i.e. if itweighed

100goriginally, it

wouldweigh 75g

after)

30% 35% 40% 45% 50% (i.e. if itweighed

100goriginally, it

wouldweigh 50g

after)

More than50%

Q. How much would a food you regularly buy have to reduce in size before you would stop buying it?

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

15

13% said this

30%said this

Q. For food you buy from shops to eat at home - do you think the portion sizes are…

Too small Too large

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

YouGov Profiles can also explore eating habits further, to include segmentations by age, gender, etc. The large sample sizes (up to 250,000 people) means that even low incidence groups can be analysed.

For information see https://yougov.co.uk/find-solutions/profiles/

…Many of whom are unhappy already

16

Price first, size second.

People are split over buying smaller versions

17

Q. Thinking of when a product you buy was reduced in size –did you stop buying it?

2%

19%

17%

15%

38%

Yes, I stopped even though the price went downwhen the size went down

Yes, I stopped because the price went up eventhough the size went down

Yes, I stopped because the price stayed the samewhen the size went down

Not applicable, this hasn't happened to anythingI buy

No, I still bought it

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

38%

38%

They would rather pay more than see favourites shrink

18

Q. Which of the following would you rather that the manufacturers do?

36%

46%

17%

Reduce its size, so that the price stays the same

Increase its cost, so that the size stays the same

Don't knowSource: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

YouGov Profiles can also explore eating habits further, to include segmentations by age, gender, etc. The large sample sizes (up to 250,000 people) means that even low incidence groups can be analysed.

For information see https://yougov.co.uk/find-solutions/profiles/

Because they blame themselves for the health crisis

19

Q. Which ONE of the following do you think is a contributor to obesity/poor health?

34%

37%

3%

26%

People simply eating too much food

People eating food that is bad for them

None of these/don't know

71% say what or

how much people eat is to blame

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

Those who take responsibility are more likely to say they are healthy eaters

20Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

14%

45%

39%

3%

68%

29%

Unhealthy eater Could be healthier Healthy eater

Those who think people are responsible for themselves

Those who think food manufacturers are responsible

But they have more takeaways

21

13%

30%

21%

16% 15%

4%

0% 0%

13%

38%

20%

11%15%

3%0% 0%

NEVER LESS OFTEN

ONCE A MONTH

ONCE A WEEK

SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH

SEVERAL TIMES A

WEEK

ONCE A DAY

MORE THAN

ONCE A DAY

Those who think people are responsible for themselves

Those who think food manufactueres are responsible

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

And they eat out more frequently

22

5%

24%

22%

17%

25%

5%

1% 0%

6%

33%

23%

15%17%

5%

0% 0%

NEVER LESS OFTEN

ONCE A MONTH

ONCE A WEEK

SEVERAL TIMES A MONTH

SEVERAL TIMES A

WEEK

ONCE A DAY

MORE THAN

ONCE A DAY

Those who think people are responsible for themselves

Those who think food manufactueres are responsible

Eating out frequency

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

23

77% “food manufacturers are not responsible and shouldn’t have to reduce

portion/serving sizes”

Because people say they are responsible for themselves…

Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

YouGov Profiles can also explore eating habits further, to include segmentations by age, gender, etc. The large sample sizes (up to 250,000 people) means that even low incidence groups can be analysed.

For information see https://yougov.co.uk/find-solutions/profiles/

“In the UK, people generally eat more than they need to”

And they think others should be as well…

24

82%Source: YouGov’s Portion Sizes re-contact survey 2017.

YouGov Profiles can also explore eating habits further, to include segmentations by age, gender, etc. The large sample sizes (up to 250,000 people) means that even low incidence groups can be analysed.

For information see https://yougov.co.uk/find-solutions/profiles/

Recommendations

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1. The ‘shrinkflation’ trend is happening across the board. Encourage loyalty from your customers as they have shown that they will not abandon favourites is this is handled correctly.

2. They will pay more for their favourites to stay the same size, but if size reduction is necessary – 15% is a clear limit.

3. Justify your actions – cutting down portions and increasing costs will help with UK obesity. 34% say people eating too much is a contributor to obesity.

4. People are more concerned about food ingredients than food sizing, as this is something they can control. Get on their side by looking out for their health.

5. Remember, above all, that more people think obesity is an issue of personal responsibility, i.e. customers might drop your product if it shrinks, but being seen as unhealthy is not a barrier to success.

Profiles is our segmentation and media planning tool for agencies and brands.

It holds 190,000 variables collected from our most active 250,000 panellists in the UK. We have the same connected dataset in the US for over 200,000 panellists with 200,000 variables, and also in Germany with 100,000 data points for over 55,000 panellists.

About YouGov Profiles

About YouGov BrandIndex

YouGov BrandIndex involves tracking the public perception of brands across the world everyday.

Want to find out what the world thinks about your brand? BrandIndex is the authoritative measure of brand perception, monitoring thousands of brands across dozens of sectors.

We interview thousands of consumers every day, yielding over 2.5 million interviews a year. BrandIndex operates at National and International levels, allowing you to track brand perception in one country, compare across multiple countries or monitor a global picture.

Our data is updated daily and instantly available to you through the BrandIndex reporting tool.

This makes it easy for you to keep an eye on your brand’s health and immediately act on any changes in perception. BrandIndex provides the critical insights that are necessary for fast and informed decision-making.

“Understand the big trends and the granular details of a sector or subject.”

• YouGov Reports are the way that YouGov talks to the world by bringing the YouGov cube to life with highly visual and simple to understand PowerPoint reports packed full of real business recommendations.

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5. In addition, also available is a full BrandIndex subscription which allows you to continuously track brand awareness and perception.

Ways to extend this research

David Ellis+44 20 7012 6216

email: david.ellis@yougov.com

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