Understanding food allergies and intolerances – the consumer viewpoint Louise Vacher, Consulting Director, YouGov September 2014
Agenda What we did Who suffers from an allergy/intolerance? How do sufferers manage their allergies/intolerances? Who is buying FreeFrom foods? Conclusions 2
Methodology 15-minute online survey conducted among YouGov panellists. 12 th – 18 th Fieldwork was undertaken between August 2014. Research was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 1039 UK adults and carried out online using the YouGov panel. A boost was included to ensure we had robust numbers for key consumer groups including: - Wheat/Gluten intolerant or allergic - Dairy intolerant or allergic - Egg intolerant or allergic - Shellfish intolerant or allergic - ‘Free from’ buyers - Parents with children with food intolerances/allergies
The context
The growth of “ FreeFrom ” And even: Massive growth in “ FreeFrom ” foods UK market up 72% in last 5 years Number of new products launched in Europe up by 140% in last 5 years 50% of all baby food launches in Europe in 2014 are gluten free 300% increase in the number of gluten-free items on restaurant menus since 2011 New regulations mean restaurants have to provide information on allergens from December 2014 5 Source: Mintel/Horizons
Who suffers from an allergy/intolerance?
A third of UK households are affected Over 1 in 5 (22%) of the UK population consider themselves to have a food allergy or intolerance An increase of 5% compared to 2011 7% have a diagnosed or 16% have a diagnosed or suspected food allergy suspected food intolerance And almost 1/3 (31%) of UK households include at least one allergy or intolerance sufferer Base: Total UK Nat Rep (1039) 7 S1. Do you suffer from any food allergies or intolerances? Please select all that apply. householdQ2. And which, if any, of these people in your household have a food allergy or intolerance? Please select all that apply.
Dairy and gluten are the most common Dairy 12% suspected allergy 8% of the UK population 4% diagnosed allergy 50% suspected intolerance 33% diagnosed intolerance 12% of UK households Gluten 13% suspected allergy 7% of the UK population 6% diagnosed allergy 61% suspected intolerance 20% diagnosed intolerance 10% of UK households Base: Total UK Nat Rep (1039) 8 Q1. Which, if any, of the following food allergies/intolerances do you have? If you have both an allergy or intolerance to the same category, please select the condition (allergy or intolerance) that causes the most severe symptoms.
Other allergy/intolerance incidences in household Peanuts Nuts Egg 5% of UK 5% of UK 5% of UK households households households Molluscs Crustaceans Fish 3% of UK 5% of UK 5% of UK households households households Sesame seeds Sulphur dioxide Soy beans 2% of UK 3% of UK 2% of UK households households households Mustard Celery Lupine 1% of UK 1% of UK 1% of UK households households households Base: Total UK Nat Rep (1039) 9 Q1. Which, if any, of the following food allergies/intolerances do you have? If you have both an allergy or intolerance to the same category, please select the condition (allergy or intolerance) that causes the most severe symptoms.
Who suffers from an allergy/intolerance? 18 - 24 12% - 63% 37% +11% -11% 6% -2% 25 - 34 15% +1% 2% 19% -5% -1% 19% +3% 11% +2% 35 - 44 23% 5% +4% - - 12% 26% +4% C2DE, 45 - 54 19% - 42% -3% ABC1, 55+ 32% -4% 58% +3% +x% = Difference compared to UK population Base: Total UK Nat Rep (1039) / Allergy/intolerance suffers (219) 10
Incidences among children 5% of all UK households 17% of UK households including have a child with a food children have at least one child with a intolerance or allergy food allergy or intolerance Which allergies/intolerances do they have? Top 5 Dairy Peanuts Gluten/ Nuts Egg Wheat 39% 33% 24% 23% 28% Base: Parents of children with allergies in household (includes boost) (119) 11 householdQ2. And which, if any, of these people in your household have a food allergy or intolerance? Please select all that apply. Q2_C_1. You said a child in your household suffers from a food allergy or intolerance. Which of the following do(es) the child/children in your household suffer from? -
Attitudes towards allergies/intolerances 28% believe a believe there seem to be more ‘good deal of food 77% intolerance/allergies are people with food allergies and just in people’s minds’ intolerances nowadays than there used to be 36% 57% of sufferers say “food allergies/ of sufferers think there is still a lot of intolerances restrict my life” negativity around food allergies/intolerances Base: Total UK Nat Rep (1039) / allergy/intolerance sufferers (732) 12 Q3 On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is 'strongly disagree' and 5 is 'strongly agree', to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about food allergies and intolerances?
How are allergies/intolerances managed?
How are households affected? 12% 19% 63% Everyone in the household Household members avoid these Household members still eat avoids the foods the household foods when they’re with the these foods when with the member is allergic/intolerant to allergy/intolerance sufferer sufferer at all times Are different meals prepared for allergy sufferers? 9% 45% 43% Some of the time Never All of the time Base: All with sufferer in household (excluding those that live alone) (278) 14 T4_A. Which, if any, of the following best describes how you manage this allergy/intolerance in the household? Please select one answer. T4_B. In your household, does the allergy/intolerance sufferer eat different meals from the rest of the household? Please select one answer.
Avoidance is the main way of managing their sensitivities. Labelling plays an important role Those with an Those with an How allergies/intolerances are managed allergy intolerance Avoidance 45% 22% Keep to a strict diet and avoid all products sensitive to 42% 42% Stick to safe foods that they know will not trigger a reaction 22% 42% Only eat small amounts of the food they are sensitive to Information 34% 38% Read ingredient labels Alternatives 15% 15% Cook everything from scratch 7% 21% Buy specially designed ‘ FreeFrom ’ products Medication 29% 6% Use anti-histamines/OTC medicines 16% 13% Use prescribed medication Base: All allergy sufferers (70) T1_allergies. And which, if any, of the following describes how you tend to manage your food allergies? Please select all that apply. 15 Base: All intolerance sufferers (166) T1_allergies. And which, if any, of the following describes how you tend to manage your food allergies? Please select all that apply.
Dealing with children’s allergies Sticking to safe foods (58%) , 33% discuss their 48% of parents 40% of parents send reading ingredient labels child’s dietary agree there are not their child to school 28% of parents buy (57%) , and cooking requirements with enough with a packed lunch specially designed everything from scratch teachers/child allergy/intolerance due to their ‘ FreeFrom ’ products (37%) are the top 3 minders and other products specially allergies/intolerances parents designed for children treatments for kids Base: Parents of children with allergies in household (includes boost) (119) T1_Children. And which, if any, of the following describes how you tend to manage the child/children’s food allergies or into lerances? Please select all that apply. 16 C1. You mentioned earlier that your child(ren) suffer(s) from a food allergy or intolerance. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree and 5 is strongly agree, to what extent do you agree with the following statements about managing your child’s allergies
Most find it relatively easy to find & understand information on labels How easy is it to…. Find information about the following allergens on food Understand the information about the allergens on food products? products? Peanuts 18% 71% Peanuts 17% 72% Nuts Nuts 19% 68% 17% 71% Dairy/Lactose Dairy/Lactose 22% 68% 19% 70% Gluten/Wheat Gluten/Wheat 25% 68% 22% 70% Crustacean 27% 59% Crustacean 26% 60% Fish 26% 58% Fish 26% 60% Molluscs Molluscs 29% 56% 27% 60% Sesame seeds Sesame seeds 33% 53% 25% 62% Egg Egg 29% 53% 25% 55% Soya beans 45% 44% Soya beans 40% 54% Sulphur dioxide 47% 42% Sulphur dioxide 34% 53% Difficult Easy Difficult Easy Base: Total UK population Q3. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is 'strongly disagree' and 5 is 'strongly agree', to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about food allergies and intolerances? 17 Base: Allergy/intolerance sufferers or parents of children sufferers (inc boost): Gluten sufferers (299) Peanuts sufferers (175) Nut sufferers (164) Egg sufferers (176) Dairy (328) Soya (53) Sesame (58) Fish (69) Crustaceans (119) Molluscs (121) Sulphur dioxide (85) T2_A_1. And how easy or difficult is it to find the allergy/intolerance information you need on food products?
Coping with situations outside the home
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