Last updated on December 12th, 2019 at 05:17 pm
According to the latest research from Men’s Health, men are taking more control over grocery shopping and cooking than ever before, with 84 percent of them saying they’re the primary grocery shoppers in their households (a 19 percentage point increase over the past decade). The Rodale Inc. brand has released the fourth iteration of “How Men Shop for Food,” a study conducted online with Harris Poll among U.S. adult men to measure their attitudes and behaviors regarding shopping for groceries, eating healthy, preparing meals for themselves and others, and influence over purchasing decisions.
“The study’s results continue to challenge many gender stereotypes related to food shopping and cooking,” said Men’s Health VP & Publisher Chris Peel. “Men have an active role in each stage of the food purchasing process—before getting to the store, while there, and when cooking the food they’ve bought. Food retailers are uniquely positioned to appeal to men throughout this cycle and to evolve their marketing plans based on this compelling data.”
Results of the study reveal that men are not only taking more ownership of food shopping, but two-thirds (66 percent) of them also are deciding what to buy before they get to the store. Thirty-five percent of men have been influenced by an online ad to try a new food or beverage, and 13 percent put specific brands of items on their shopping lists (up 9 percentage points from 2010). Two-thirds (66 percent) of men who are married or living with a partner use grocery lists often or all the time (up 15 percentage points from 2010), and nearly all of them (98 percent) have input into the list.
Compared to a decade ago, more men are buying large groups of items at once, and alone. Seventy percent are primary shoppers for big food trips (16-plus items) and 43 percent are making those trips by themselves. They are taking responsibility for pet food shopping, too; 71 percent of male dog owners and 73 percent of male cat owners purchase pet food at least once a month.
An increasing number of men are turning up in the kitchen as well, with 93 percent of them preparing meals for themselves and 77 percent preparing meals for others. Male consumption of online cooking videos is up considerably since 2010; nearly half (48 percent) watched cooking videos in the last 12 months, and 46 percent of those men watched on social media (up 39 percentage points from 2010). Men are experimenting with additional food brands, too, with 86 percent having tried a new brand in the past 12 months.
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