The pandemic had a severe impact on the table of Brazilians in the first quarter of this year. With the income reduction, there are families that started not only to adopt the consumption of cheaper proteins (such as eggs) but also to substitute meals for porridge. It also increased the consumption of lunchboxes and sandwiches prepared by the people themselves to reduce spending on food outside the home.
The information is contained in the new study “Consumer Insights”, made by Kantar, a company specialized in data and consulting, obtained exclusively by the UOL.
According to the survey, porridge is among the most consumed dishes in the lower social classes (CDE): its consumption increased 8 percentage points at dinner; 3.9 points in the morning snack and 2.8 points in suppers in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2020.
Less assistance and higher unemployment
Renan Morais, the company’s solutions manager, says that the reduction in emergency aid, unemployment and rising inflation are the main factors responsible for the change in food.
“Emergency aid brought a certain respite to the families. At the beginning of the pandemic, the lower classes were able to buy a certain product that was not in the pantry. consumption. Within this scenario, porridge plays a strong role for lower classes in an attempt to preserve food, especially for children.”
More lunchboxes and cold snacks
The consumption of lunchboxes increased 32.6% in classes D and E, 31% in classes C and 1.3% in classes A and B. Sandwiches prepared with cold cuts also increased.
According to the survey, these changes in habits occur as a result of the reduction in income, impacted by unemployment, inflation and reduction in emergency aid.
People are more concerned with disbursement and even with food contamination, says Morais. In other words, it is a way to reduce costs, since eating on the street is more expensive.
bread and ham advance
The preparation more affordable for the pocket made the industrialized bread reach more homes in class D and E. The bread entered 6.2 million new homes, growth of 11 percentage points, in the first three months of this year.
In this scenario, the ham appears as the protein of the time, gaining 14.8 points of penetration in the same period – totaling a gain of more than 8.4 million new homes.
The survey also emphasizes the drop in meat consumption. With the rise in the price of steaks and fillets, classes D and E migrated to sausage; classes A and B for dried meat and C for hamburger.
Unprecedented collapse situation
Although it is common for economic crises to lead to changes in consumption patterns, the professor of economics at Ibmec-RJ, Vivian Almeida, recalls that the current moment is unprecedented.
“What we had seen until today are economic problems that were born in the economic system itself and there were answers. This time, no. The current crisis is due to a sanitary problem that affects people and health. What we are trying to do now is to mitigate the effects of this unprecedented crisis. We have suffered a collapse in investment in human capital and there are uncertainties about the future.”
Less restaurant, more delivery
The research also shows that, in the first quarter of this year, delivery was consolidated between classes A and B. Delivery grew strongly throughout last year, but growth slowed down a little between the end of the year and the first quarter of 2021 .
The survey analyzed the individual consumption of classes in this delivery service and saw that consumption increased 1.2% in classes A and B and retracted 15.8% in the lower classes.
“I believe that the CDE class had to make choices at this time of lower income and higher prices. Delivery turned out to be a convenient ‘luxury’ for these classes at specific times, but it did not hold up, as we observed in the AB class,” he said. the Kantar manager.
The study also highlights that 62% of spending on food and non-alcoholic beverages occurred within the home and only 38% outside the home. In this scenario, Almeida believes that it is also important to analyze how the periods of closing and opening of commerce impacted consumption inside and outside the home.
The purchase of cleaning materials drops
Another market that shrank earlier this year was cleaning products – the only exception is the synthetic sponge. “Eating more at home, we ended up washing more dishes,” stated Morais.
For him, the reduction in purchases is associated with the increase in prices, which reached 12%. According to him, the promotions were relevant to the performance of brands in the period and were options for all classes.
In the survey, the use of multipurpose cleaner appears to fall for all classes, as it is a more expensive product. Almeida adds that, in this case, it is worth considering the learning curve and the return of part of society to face-to-face work.
“There is also the fact that people are no longer stocking products at home and preparing for the worst scenario. In addition, many people have already gone back to work: less time at home, less cleaning,” said the teacher.
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