Eating occasions are an expression of today’s modern eating culture, and thus provide snapshots of how fragmentation happens in the daily eating moments of consumers’ lives. Immediate consumption is defined as occasions where food and drink is consumed within an hour of purchase. Immediate consumption today has become a normal part of our food management as we use retailers and food service alike as an extension of our personal pantries and have embraced a more spontaneous approach to planning. Immediate consumption not only occurs more frequently, now it also happens:
  • Regularly: everything from the slightest whims and inconveniences to daily and routine meals and snacks
  • Anywhere: Immediate consumption is as much about creating flexibility in the planning for home occasions as it is about eating out.
For the most comprehensive research into snacking and eating and drinking behaviors, check out these two reports:
Click to view full infographic