Oser Communications Group

1 0 SNACKING NEWS February 2018 Uber Eats Unveils National Study on Americans' Eating Habits Uber Eats, Uber's standalone meal deliv- ery app, has released findings from its first-ever "How America Eats" survey, capturing surprising data and trends from U.S. adults across generations and regions. The survey reveals Americans' changing — and unexpected — eating habits, food preferences and dislikes, guilt-inducing delivery attitudes, and more. Some key takeaways include: Brunch is Dying: What was once the trendy meal for Gen X is taking a major hit. Eating supper — a late night meal — at least once a week is now nearly twice as common as brunch. At least half of U.S. adults have at some point eaten food that they know is expired (56 percent) or food that has fallen on the floor (50 percent). Nearly 90 percent of Millennials (89 percent) admit to texting while dining out, and 43 percent of Amer- icans say they are picky eaters. The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Uber Eats within the United States between October 26 and November 6, 2017 among 1,019 US adults aged 18-plus. "The eating habits of Americans are ever-evolving, and we believe it's impor- tant to just as constantly find ways to more deeply understand what, where, and when people eat, and ultimately why. If we bet- ter understand our eaters, we can better serve through products built with their needs in mind," said Jeanette Mellinger, Head of Uber Eats User Research. "It's clear that today's everyday eating is a chal- lenge for many, and we're excited to build a product that is making eating easier, in 2018 and beyond." Additional findings from the study in- clude: Eating Habits Parental Advisory: 60 percent of parents admit to eating their kids' leftovers at least sometimes, with 26 percent do so always/often. Who is the Pickiest?: Half of Millennials describe themselves as picky, compared to a third of Baby Boomers. Salty vs. Sweet: Generation X (28 percent) and Baby Boomers (27 percent) tend to prefer salty snacks, while Millennials (24 percent) tend to crave sweets. Food Delivery Habits Romance, Delivered?: Couples are twice as likely to order in delivery than singles. Netflix and Binge: Forget binge watching — for more than half of adults, it's about binge eating when watching TV (57 per- cent of all U.S. adults overeat at least sometimes when watching TV). TV- watching is the biggest overeating trigger for Millennials in particular (78 percent do it at least sometimes; including 38 percent who do so always/often) — even more than being alone (72 percent), sad (53 per- cent), or stressed (63 percent). Keeping the Peace: About one in four couples who ever order delivery (23 per- cent) say they often argue over which restaurant to order from, and will at least sometimes order from two restaurants if they can't resolve their differences (24 per- cent). Nearly four in 10 parents who ever order in delivery (36 percent) do the same, sometimes ordering from multiple restau- rants just to keep the peace among their children. The same goes for cooking — 54 percent of parents and 28 percent of couples will at least sometimes cook multiple meals at once to ac- commodate different preferences. Guilt Trip: More than two in five (43 percent) adults feel guilty when they order delivery. And the most popular time or occasion for people to order delivery is when there's bad weather (33 percent). Etiquette Office Etiquette: One fifth of work- ers (21 percent) admit to some- times eating stinky food at their desk, and 12 percent of the work- force admits to sometimes stealing a co-worker's lunch (either acci- dentally or intentionally). These behaviors are most common with Millennials, who are more than four times as likely to eat a stinky meal at their desk than their baby boomer counterparts (31 percent vs. 7 percent). Dining Out Pass on the Family-style: 27 percent of adults say they hate or dislike sharing food with others they're dining with, and 22 percent say they hate or dislike dining in large groups. Furthermore, five percent of adults hate it if other people order the same dish as them when dining out at a restaurant. Bills, Bills, Bills: The most common way to handle the bill while dining out with friends is to itemize it (i.e., each person only pays for the items they eat, 46 per- cent), followed by splitting it equally (36 percent). There also appears to be some re- gional differentiation, with those living in the Northeast (51 percent) more likely to split equally, while those in the Midwest (57 percent) and South (53 percent) more likely to itemize. Westerners are mixed in their opinion. n Yoplait Introduces Girl Scout Cookie-Inspired Yogurt Girl Scout cookie fans can enjoy Yoplait yogurt with new flavors inspired by their favorite cookies. Flavors include: Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts ® Thin Mints ® Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Peanut Butter Choco- late, and Yoplait Original Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut. General Mills is working with Girls Scouts of the USA, whose mission is to build girls' courage, confidence and char- acter and whose annual cookie program teaches business and life skills to the next generation of female entrepreneurs. The Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Thin Mints yogurt offers the instantly recogniz- able mint chocolate flavor. The Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Peanut Butter Choco- late variety has the same great Yoplait Whips! texture, but with a sweet and sat- isfying peanut butter taste and hint of chocolate finish. The Yoplait Original Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut flavor is in the style of Yoplait Original – smooth and creamy, with a delicious blend of coconut and caramel flavors. "For those who wish they had more ways to enjoy their favorite chocolate mint, peanut butter chocolate, and caramel coconut flavors, we have three delicious, new yogurts inspired by America's most popular Girl Scout cookie flavors," said Doug Martin, Business Unit Director, Yoplait. "Girl Scouts of the USA does ex- traordinary things for girls like teaching them valuable life and business skills through the Girl Scout Cookie Program ® , which is why we are honored to work with the organization." The three new yogurts will be available at retailers nationwide, and is a permanent, year-round addition to Yoplait's portfolio. The new flavors do not contain high fructose corn syrup, are made with live and active cultures, and are gluten free. The Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Thin Mints and Yoplait Whips! Girl Scouts Peanut Butter Chocolate flavors will each be available in 4-ounce cups, and the Yoplait Original Girl Scouts Caramel Coconut flavor will be available in 6-ounce cups. "Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) is excited about its relationship with Yoplait to create yogurts inspired by three of the beloved Girl Scout Cookie flavors," said Barry Horowitz, GSUSA Chief Revenue Officer. "Beyond the delicious flavor, the yogurts will also remind consumers every- where of the power of Girl Scout cookies. The cookie program is the largest entrepre- neurial training program for girls in the world, and we are pleased Yoplait is work- ing with us to share the message about the program and the impact of Girl Scouts with even more families in America." For more information, visit www .generalmills.com. n

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