Butter creams the market
patterns the desire for comfort food appears is still clearly
present. According to a recent report from the US retail sales of
butter increased by a significant 32 per cent from 1999 to 2000.
Despite growing trends in the West towards healthier eating patterns, the desire for comfort food, it appears, is still clearly present. According to a recent report from the US, retail sales of butter increased by a significant 32 per cent from 1999 to 2000.
But signs of the health concerns are creeping in as negative publicity about the product's transfatty acids led margarine to outsell butter in the marketplace. Margarine and spreads account for 28 per cent of the total sales of edible fats and cooking oils, while butter still only accounts for 24 per cent.
The report, The Changing Face of Edible Fats and Cooking Oils, published by Packaged Facts, revealed that olive oil is achieving explosive growth and consumers now regard it as the 'healthy oil' that is good for the heart. The number of Americans who use olive oil for everything from dipping to cooking has doubled in the past ten years, according to the report, and almost 29 per cent of Americans purchased olive oil in 1999.
The report, contrary to recent statistics about the growing phenomenon of obesity, stressed that the overall attitude towards fat in the United States appears to have changed in recent years as consumers have become increasingly aware of their nutritional needs.
"Americans are coming out of the 'fear of fat' trend of the late 1990s and have come to see that fat is a necessary part of a healthy diet,''said Meg Hargreaves, VP of research publishing for MarketResearch.com. "Products like olive oil and spreads with nutraceutical benefits, such as added calcium and vitamin E, are a healthy way to get the fat that our bodies need.''
