2005 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

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Teagasc � The National Food Centre, Ashtown, Dublin 15
Cathal Cowan
Consumers, lifestyle and convenience foods


The food-related lifestyle (FRL) instrument, developed by the MAPP Centre in Denmark, is a measurement instrument used to segment consumers on the basis of their food lifestyles. The research team which was led by Mr. Cathal Cowan of The National Food Centre and included Dr. Mary McCarthy of UCC and Mr. Julian Smith, Bord Bia, applied the FRL instrument to the British market. Over 1,000 consumers, who were the main shoppers in their household, were surveyed. Six segments with distinct food-related lifestyles were identified. The research focussed on convenience foods. The snacking, careless and the uninvolved are convenience oriented segments, while the rational, adventurous and conservative are more interested in the health and quality aspects of food.


The Snacking Food Consumers are the most likely to snack and to seek quick and easy solutions to cooking. They have the highest level of interest in convenience foods. The Careless Food Consumers are the least interested in shopping and have a below average interest in meal preparation and cooking. They experience the highest level of time pressure and are frequent purchasers of convenience foods. The Uninvolved Food Consumers are characterised by their lack of interest in food and food-related activities. Convenience foods are very important to them.

The Rational Food Consumers are particularly interested in quality foods. Health, taste and freshness are very important to this segment. The Adventurous Food Consumers have the greatest interest in new food products and speciality foods. They are the most interested in cooking and are the least interested in convenience foods. The Conservative Food Consumers are quite traditional in their attitudes towards cooking and shopping. They have a low level of involvement with convenience foods. They are the least interested in new food products.

This FRL research allows potential market opportunities to be identified and provides information on which to arrange marketing strategies, including product development, pricing decisions and communication.

Contact: Cathal Cowan, Food Marketing Research Group,
The National Food Centre, Teagasc, Ashtown, Dublin 15;
Tel: (01) 805 9583;
E-mail: [email protected] ; Web: http://www.teagasc.ie/nfc