Bi-Weekly Chicory Recipe Trends: Week of 5/11

Grocery’s Turning Point?

Two weeks ago when we released our last trends report, consumers within our network had been indulging in certain key rituals as they leaned into life at home, from big breakfasts on the weekends to recreating restaurant favorites. But with recent announcements of “on pause” orders extended until June 13th in New York and stay-at-home orders that remain undetermined in California, it seems we’ve reached a turning point in grocery habits as consumers prepare for an even longer period at home.

In the first two weeks of May 2020, we witnessed notable shifts in terms of consumer product preference. The initial response to the coronavirus pandemic and its early impact on shopping patterns have petered off, “panic buying” tapered off as well, and the more long-term effects are starting to take hold.

Fruit 

For the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began to grip the nation and keep cooks and families stationed at home, we observed growth for fresh fruit products. During the first two weeks of May, fruits were the category that showed the most growth among the top 100 ingredients showing growth in our network. 

“Perhaps it’s the promise of warmer weather, but consumer content usage indicates that shoppers are feeling comfortable incorporating fresh fruits back into their shopping trips, something they halted when stay at home orders began,” said Hillary Reeves, VP of Marketing at Chicory. “Strawberries showed the most growth during the first two weeks of May but avocados, one of the most negatively impacted ingredients at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, is seeing a notable rebound.”

Meats and Proteins

This trend in recipe browsing and usage among our 100M+ monthly visitors reflects more macro-level economic happenings. Beef and pork fell in popularity, with consumers trading these typically preferred proteins for eggs, shrimp and other filling or high-protein plant-based alternatives. This likely is a response to pork and beef products being harder to find amid COVID-19 related plant closures.

Pantry & Freezer Packing 

In the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic, consumers’ response was to stock up on frozen and shelf stable items like beans, rice and pasta. From February to April alone, frozen ingredients saw a 57% increase in engagement within our network of +100M monthly shoppers. However, in the last two weeks, we’ve seen a shift. Shoppers are once again open to buying fresh fruits and are less likely to be shopping for pantry-stable or frozen items than they were in March and April. Overall canned fruits and vegetables saw the largest decline in popularity as a category during the first two weeks in May.

Small Celebrations

Finally, as we predicted in previous weeks, consumers would use holidays as checkpoint occasions to look forward to and an excuse to take on special creations in the kitchen. A month ago, we saw Easter traffic surpass that of Thanksgiving, one of the highest traffic occasions in our network.  And while Cinco de Mayo didn’t produce quite the same spike, there was a larger blip in traffic than typical for a Tuesday.

Consumers are returning to semi-normal shopping habits, from relinquishing hoarding behaviors to returning to fresh-not-frozen, reflecting the adoption of the “new normal.”

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