Strolling through a farmers’ market on a warm summer day brings a whole host of sights and smells. On the other hand, walking through a grocery store does not always provided the same sense of rustic romanticism.
This could be a problem, as a recent piece from the Associated Press explains that consumers are increasingly looking for more "natural" foods on the market: “Americans still love their fast food and packaged snacks, but they're increasingly turning their noses up at foods that look overly processed.” Food manufacturers are trying to change this aesthetic to meet consumer demand within retail spaces like grocery stores and convenience marts.
Numerous industry producers are trying to create more “natural” looking products for consumption: “The result is that companies are tossing out the identical shapes and drab colors that scream of factory conveyor belts.” For instance, Kraft has recently focused on making turkey slices look more like “leftovers from a homemade meal rather than the cookie-cutter ovals typical of most lunchmeat.”
Concern has been raised that consumers might be fooled, in that changes may simply just be aesthetic. The natural debate that is to come from defining “natural” is still taking shape in the market and in the press. In the meantime, the shape of food presentation is changing, bringing some new aesthetics of the farmers' market a bit more indoors. Perhaps the coming months will show how consumers react to this movement in retail. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? Feel free to comment below.
