What we eat and what we say we’ll eat may well be different.

So we all want to be healthy and would obviously choose healthier foods over non healthy – right?

Ipsos has just released it’s latest Foods Consumption, Habits, Attitudes and Trends report. It shows that eating more fresh fruit and vegetables is the number one food thing Australians want to do this year.

The others in the top five food priorities for this year are; smaller portion sizes, reducing sugar intake from food, eating healthier snacks and cutting down on fat.

The intent is good but the reality is vastly different as the Ipsos research shows.

In store, the research found, 72 percent of those making the purchase put taste as the main reason for buying the food. Health is not the driving force.

Many businesses are doing all sorts of things to reduce their Carbon Footprint and saying so on the product packaging. These businesses will be disappointed to realise that sustainability is not high in the purchase decision as the second top reason for purchase is price (with 63 percent of shoppers putting this as a priority).

Ipsos Strategy and Research Director, Kathy Benson said; “Our study shows that while making healthier food choices is a key priority for Australians, the typical, everyday shopper is still struggling to balance healthiness against convenience and their budget. Making a quick decision in-store, purchasing products which are familiar and easy to use at home, as well as meeting budget restrictions, are still very important factors when it comes to making food purchases.”

The results from this research highlight a problem for food businesses – what we eat and what we say we’ll eat may well be different. How do food businesses develop new products if what we say is one thing and what we actually buy and then eat are different?

Maybe this helps to explain why several of the big quick serve chains continue to put out huge meals, even though we say we’ll eat smaller portions.