Helping consumers overcome hurdles to cooking at home represent significant opportunities for food retailers, restaurants and CPG companies.

No matter how difficult it is to achieve such a meal, consumers still place a big emphasis on dinner.

While the food and beverage industry has latched onto the term, consumers approach the concept from unique perspectives.

While meal kit delivery companies have certainly captured the imaginations of investors and the media, consumers are a different story.

Looking back on yet another year of dynamic change in the food and beverage industry, one constant we see is that consumers are still the major disruptive force.

As with many consumer-driven mega-trends that have achieved mainstream stature following years of lurking on the fringes of culture, consumer involvement with all things “sustainable” is now at an all-time high.

While shopping online for groceries is on the uptick, The Hartman Group’s Food Shopping in America 2017 report finds that it has yet to detract from the number of in-person trips to traditional brick-and-mortar food retailers.

Baby boomers and the silent generation have become an aging collective of consumers seemingly forgotten in food culture, passed over in favor of the new generations du jour: millennials, Gen X and Gen Z.

As consumers continue to create market opportunities for specialty food and beverage products viewed as higher quality, we are often asked "Who is the premium consumer?”

Industry executives recognize the transformative power of health and wellness in shaping their business but grapple with how to leverage health and wellness as the foundation for building competitive distinction.