BOSTON — Several product benefits, including fiber and natural ingredients, may appeal to “whole grain prioritizers,” said Julie Johnson, president of Health Focus International. These consumers want to consume healthier types of carbohydrates.
“So they are avoiding processed carbs and seeking out carbs from whole foods, like whole grains, also veggies and legumes,” she said in a Jan. 28 webinar put on by the Boston-based Whole Grains Council.
During the webinar, Johnson gave details on an HFI 2024 international study that covered 25 international markets and 13,517 interviews of consumers at least 18 years old. Thirty-seven percent of respondents were whole grain “prioritizers” in that they sought carbohydrates from whole foods. Another 33% said they use carbohydrates as part of an overall balanced diet and do not focus on the type of carbohydrates.
“The main point here is the vast majority, about 70%, think about their carb intake,” Johnson said.
While 16% said they avoid carbohydrates as much as possible, 13% said they do not think about their carbohydrate intake.
“Those are groups that you are not going to pay much attention to,” she said.
Consumers who prioritize whole grains generally cared more about their health. When respondents were asked if they were extremely or very concerned about their health, 60% of the whole grain priority group said they were, which compared to 55% overall. The whole grain priority group also was more concerned about cancer (51% to 47%), inflammation (51% to 44%) and digestive health (47% to 45%).
“So it’s not just about telling consumers what is in their products or what ingredients they may want to see,” Johnson said. “It’s telling them how those ingredients can benefit them.”
Another question asked respondents what ingredients they were interested in to improve digestive/gut health. Interest in fiber was 76% for the whole grain priority group and 69% overall. The whole grain priority group, when it came to improving digestive/gut health, also was more interested in whole grains (67% to 50%), prebiotic fiber (41% to 34%) and beta-glucan/oat and barley fiber (31% to 22%).
When asked what ingredients they tried to consume more of in the past year, 30% overall said whole grains.
“That may seem low, but consumers are not just focused on one thing, and that’s the benefits of whole grains,” Johnson said. “They offer all sorts of other benefits that strike a chord with consumers.”
The whole grain benefits included fiber, mentioned by 41% of respondents as an ingredient they tried to consume more of in the last year; natural ingredients, mentioned by 40%; and plant-based ingredients, mentioned by 23%.
Grains fared well in a question about rating “good” carbohydrates. The percentages of “good” ratings were 74% for oats, 59% for barley, 58% for wheat, 58% for corn, 54% for ancient grains, 52% for quinoa and 50% for rice.
The ratings for millet were 32% good carbohydrate, 59% neither good nor bad and 9% for bad. Johnson said consumers need more education on millet and other less-known grains.
“(Consumers) don’t really have a perception of positive or negative toward a specific grain, but this also provides a good opportunity because in these grain ratings, there is not a significant negativity to overcome,” she said.