DLG Study 
My Food – Personalisation and Nutrition

DLG Study

My Food - Personalisation and Nutrition

The publication "My Food - Personalisation and Nutrition" was conducted by the DLG in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Holger Buxel (Münster University of Applied Sciences) in summer 2019. The publication series consists of three parts that illuminate the topic of personalisation in the food sector and in nutrition from different perspectives. The DLG study focused on the question of what concrete opportunities and development prospects personalised food offers. 

The personalisation of products is becoming a global mega trend in business and society. In almost all areas, today’s customers increasingly want more than just a range of standard products. They also look for products that are tailored to them and those to which they can add a personal touch. The internet and AI (artificial intelligence) are making it increasingly easy for consumers to generate customised product recommendations and to create and order their own customised or personalised products in seconds. Digitalisation and flexible manufacturing systems are increasingly enabling companies to adapt to customer needs for more personalisation.

This trend towards personalisation can also be observed in the area of nutrition and food. Essentially, this development can be clustered into three segments: personalised food, personalised nutrition concepts and personalised assistance for food shopping and nutrition.

Supermarket
© Holger Buxel

Personalisation offers in the food sector and in nutrition

Personalised food

Personalised foods are products that are adapted by manufacturers to meet personal customer needs. To this end, manufacturers usually offer customers various options for adapting the products to their personal taste, ingredient, shape, packaging design, quantity or preparation preferences.

Personalised nutrition

Companies offer the creation of personalised nutrition concepts to better adapt nutrition to personal preferences and health needs. The customised nutritional concepts are often generated through analyses of metabolism, genetic profiles, health status, lifestyle and personal preferences.

Personalisation in food shopping and nutrition apps

Digital products (e.g. in the form of apps) are being developed for food shopping and nutrition that generate suggestions for shopping or consumption in real time based on the consumer’s personal characteristics and needs in order to simplify everyday life

Compared to standard products, personalised food can increase customer loyalty and willingness to pay. However, companies also express concerns. This is because the food industry has traditionally been characterised by a very wide range of products, offering customers many choices. Personalisation strategies also often require investment in processes and equipment, which can drive up costs and must pay off in the end.

Just as with personalised food, offering personalised nutrition concepts and aids for food shopping ultimately presupposes that there is sufficient consumer acceptance for them.

Against this background, companies in the food industry and food trade, as well as consumer and health organisations, are currently faced with the question of whether and how they should align their products and information offerings with the trend towards greater personalisation in the food and nutrition sector. Here it is often unclear to what extent the personalisation trend is already pronounced in the market and what development potential offers in the three areas of “personalised food”, “personalised nutrition concepts” and “personalised aids for food shopping and nutrition” have.

In order to meet this need for information, the DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft – German Agricultural Society), in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Holger Buxel (Münster University of Applied Sciences), conducted the study “My Food – Personalisation and Nutrition” in summer 2019. Consumer, company and expert surveys were conducted with the aim of gaining insight into the status quo of acceptance and the offer of personalised food, nutrition and assistance concepts. The main results are summarised in three publications.

StudyMy Food – Personalisation and Nutrition
Part(Part 1)
Personalised food
(Part 2)
Personalised nutrition
(Part 3)
Personalisation in food shopping and nutrition apps
Focus
  • What relevance and acceptance do personalised food offers have for consumers?
  • What is the status quo of offering personalised food? How do companies assess the trend towards greater personalisation of food?
  • What do experts say about the offering of personalised food?
  • What relevance and acceptance do offers of personalised nutrition concepts have for consumers?
  • How willing are consumers to use analytics and implementation tools for personalised nutrition?
  • How interesting are offers for personalising the shopping experience in food retailing from the consumer’s point of view?
  • How interesting are nutrition and food apps for consumers?