Bi-Weekly Chicory Recipe Trends: Week of 10/12/2020

The first weeks of October typically mark an observable shift in consumer behavior. Pumpkins, apples, nutmeg and cinnamon are out in full force, porches are decorated with autumn-themed and spooky decor and classic fall activities are packed with families, couples and friends looking to spend a day among the color-changing leaves.

While some of these habits may still ring true this year, other unique trends have cropped up as a result of changing consumer expectations for this upcoming holiday season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Home canning and preserving tutorials recipes are taking over Chicory’s top charts, as consumers gear up for a potential second wave and a repeat of low inventory and bare grocery store shelves. High levels of interaction with Thanksgiving recipes across Chicory’s shoppable recipe network indicate that consumers are getting into the holiday season earlier than ever before, eager to find a reason to celebrate amid an unusual year. Finally, alcohol ecommerce is becoming an increasingly popular service for consumers, as the holidays approach and they become more comfortable with the convenience of ordering celebration essentials online.

Home Canning and Preserving Booms

Early this year, one trend that skyrocketed was home canning and preserving due to the supply chain issues that caused grocery retailers to run out of center store staples and other food essentials. Plus, many shoppers have shown a “back to basics” trend in the recipes they cook throughout the year, baking their own bread or making tortillas from scratch, as we reported in this piece from March. Both of these trends are showing sustained highs, as evidenced by the myriad of homesteading YouTube channels that cropped up, along with the myriad of articles in mainstream publications on canning and preserving for beginners. 

And consumers might be onto something. According to a recent report, rumors of a second wave have caused grocery retailers to stock up and store away extra inventory in case demand exceeds supply again.

Over just the past two weeks, tutorials on how to recreate basic and easy-to-store supermarket staples appeared in Chicory’s top recipes list:

Thanksgiving Season Is Here. And It’s Bigger Than Ever Before.

Although holiday grocery and decor sales may indicate that the holiday prep is happening earlier and earlier each year--remember seeing Halloween candy in stores in July?--consumers typically resist this pattern in their food and cooking habits. After all, there’s no reason to cook holiday foods if there are no celebrations in October. 

Well, this year, of course, is unlike any other and Thanksgiving recipes have appeared throughout our top recipes list a week earlier than in 2019. This may indicate that consumers are planning more and using the holidays as a welcome respite from stressful news cycles. Further, recipe views for the keyword “Thanksgiving” during the first weekend in October 2020 are over 90% higher than during this time last year.

Some of the popular recipes that are spiking include:

Shoppers Buying More Alcohol Online

When examining online grocery activity for alcohol this past quarter, we can see that consumers are using online grocery for alcohol much more in recent months than ever before. Rates are out-pacing the same quarter in 2019 and, even, the holiday season in 2019, which culminates in everyone’s biggest night out -- New Year’s Eve.

In fact, online grocery activity on the first Sunday in October was over half of what we saw on Christmas Eve in 2019, typically one of the highest trafficked days of the entire year in Chicory’s shoppable recipe network.

There are two reasons for this increase in alcohol ecommerce. 

Alcohol represents an easy entry for consumers into grocery delivery services. More services are delivering alcohol, more consumers have tried online grocery and now see how alcohol can fit into their orders, and alcohol is not a fragile item nor one that requires refrigeration. Now that they are comfortable with online grocery ordering, alcohol is at the top of the list for consumers wanting their groceries delivered.

The holiday season is also a time when alcohol consumption increases as consumers gather with friends and family and stock up on their favorite drinks to use for host gifts or entertaining. Although this year, we’ll see fewer and smaller gatherings, as reported by our consumer survey, consumers are still planning on celebrating--and will do so with a glass of wine in hand.

Top Movers: Ingredients

Dessert and sweet ingredients made up the majority of the top 20 ingredients with the biggest positive change in consumer recipe engagement from the last two weeks of September to the first two weeks in October. Whether incorporating some of these ingredients into pumpkin and apple pies, chocolate chip cookies, or almond-topped pastries, consumers had a definite sweet tooth during the beginning of October.

Unsurprisingly, many of the ingredients with the largest negative change in engagement were fresh produce products like oregano, zucchini (the hit of the summer), blueberries and strawberries. Interestingly, some pantry and center store staples also made the list, including wheat crackers (-21.29%) and stewed tomatoes (-14.70%). 

Considering the popular trend of consumers recreating their own pantry staples through canning, preserving, baking and other processes, this may further indicate that consumers are relying less on center store products to stock up their pantries and instead, preferring to create their own homemade ones. 

For more news and insights from Chicory, sign up for our newsletter here!