Kiwis cutting back on meat and digging deeper into their pockets for their weekly dining have given farmers food for thought.
Research by Rabobank and food rescue charity KiwiHarvest has found New Zealanders are making large changes to their food buying and consumption.
Four in 10 Kiwi households are spending more than $200 per week on food, up 35% from last year.
Food delivery services continue to increase, while fewer New Zealanders say they are getting their five-plus fruit and vegetables a day and just under a third plan to lower their meat consumption.
He said Kiwi households at the top end who spend more than $300 per week had risen to 15%, from 12% last year.
Households spending less than $100 per week had dropped to just 11%.
"And with inflation also impacting prices for most other goods and services, it’s no shock to see the survey identifying ‘cost of living’ as the number one concern for Kiwis in 2022."
The survey also showed food service apps are on the rise with brands such as HelloFresh, UberEats, My Food Bag and Menulog now well established in the market.
Covid-19 lockdowns are likely to have played a role in driving this, while the convenience and growing range of choice offered by these services have contributed to the upsurge.
Mr Holgate said younger Kiwis and urban-based Kiwis were fans of the meal services so they were likely to play a role in food buying in the years ahead.
About 33% of Kiwis used HelloFresh in the past year, followed by Uber Eats’ 31% and My Food Bag at 20%. Emerging brands such as Menulog, Deliver Easy and foodpanda have all shown growth.
Five percent of Kiwis identified themselves as vegan — up from last year’s 2% — and the number of vegetarians climbed to 9%, from 7% previously.
Nearly 30% of those surveyed had flagged a desire to eat less meat and only 57% of them said they were achieving the target of more than five vegetables or fruit a day.
Mr Holgate said there had been a continuation of the trend towards lower meat consumption.
He said the high cost of some food items was playing an increasing role in driving change in New Zealanders’ diets.
"Health reasons and a desire to reduce the impact on the environment were the two most significant drivers cited by those saying they were planning to reduce meat consumption, however we’ve also seen the price of meat emerge as a further key factor, with this cited by 41% of Kiwis looking to eat less animal protein," he said.
Increased costs were a major obstacle for about half of those wanting to eat more fruit and vegetables, he said.
Others didn’t have enough time to prepare them or weren’t able to get to the shops often enough.
