Appetite for Growth
Making every ‘Demand Moment’ matterHow food and drink brands grow when consumption patterns break with routines
Making every ‘Demand Moment’ matter How food and drink brands grow when consumption patterns break with routines
Local Plates, Global Stakes
The Shape of Eating Now
Meet the ‘Everywhere Brand’
From Clockwork to Context
The structure of eating is loosening. What used to be three set-piece meals has blurred into something more flexible, personal, and unpredictable.
Snacks slip into breakfast. Lunch shows up late, or not at all. Dinner might be a smoothie, a handful of something, or yesterday’s leftovers. Around the world, the edges between meals and snacks are breaking down. What stands out isn’t how much people eat, but how their habits have adapted to fit new routines.
People are adapting how, when, and why they eat to match the rhythm of their lives — and brands that still chase rigid categories or time slots are missing what truly drives consumption today: the moment.
Hunger, mood, habit, pace — these decide when food appears and what form it takes. The old categories, the neat divisions between meals and snacks, have begun to blur. In some homes, they’ve disappeared altogether.
And yet many brands still plan as if the world eats in shifts. The tools they use — the language, the measurement — belong to a time when meal occasions were fixed and appetites followed the dinner bell. But behaviour has moved on.
People eat on their own terms now. And that changes everything.
To help brands keep pace with this evolution, Worldpanel has developed two powerful tools:
A framework that maps real-life eating and drinking occasions by need state, emotional context, location, and social dynamics. Instead of asking what was bought, it asks: what role did this food or drink play in someone’s life? From “Restore & Replenish” to “Unwind & Relax,” we now have a language that reflects how people eat — and why.
A behavioural KPI that quantifies how versatile a brand truly is. It measures demand coverage (how many moments a brand appears in) and dispersion (how evenly that presence is distributed). High Demand Spread Score brands flex across multiple needs and touchpoints. They’re not stuck in legacy roles; they adapt, and as a result, they grow.
Both frameworks are grounded in data from over 3 million tracked occasions across nine markets. The expanded footprint — covering six continents — gives brands a real-time snapshot and forward-looking insights. What emerges first in places like China, Brazil, or Australia may well become the next big shift in Europe or North America. Leading indicators such as these provide a competitive edge.
This report explores what growth looks like when brands stop chasing meals and start following moments. We’ll show how usage patterns are shifting, where the new opportunities lie, and how the Demand Spread Score helps translate visibility into action.
Because in 2025, the most important question is no longer: What does your brand offer? It’s: When — and how — does it fit?
Demand Moments are real-life eating and drinking occasions. They’re shaped by people’s energy, emotions, pace of life, and social setting — not by fixed mealtimes or product categories. Based on millions of tracked behaviours, this framework gives brands a grounded, practical way to understand when and why people eat, and what role food and drink actually play.
Each moment blends emotional need, physical demand, time availability, and context — from a fast weekday lunch to an indulgent weekend treat. We’ve identified 14 of these moments across four core territories that structure modern consumption:
These are structured, functional eating moments, where people are willing to put in effort to get a proper meal.36% of total occasions
Filling Meals – a sit-down lunch or dinner, often family-based
Kick Start – a solid, energy-focused breakfast
Complete & Balanced – meals with nutritional balance and planning
Solo, health-oriented, and pragmatic. Food that serves a purpose — quickly, easily, and often habitually.23% of total occasions
Lighter Meals – easy-to-prepare lunches or solo dinners
Simple & Healthy – e.g., smoothies, salads, light proteins
Afternoon Treat – a small recharge with nutritional value
Routine Recharge – everyday snacking with function
Emotionally meaningful, often shared occasions where food plays a role in connection — and effort is part of the reward.26% of total occasions
Family Favourites – comfort foods and legacy dishes
Time & Effort – cooking as quality time
Lazy Start – relaxed breakfasts with time to linger
Habitual, No Hassles – reliable, low-stress rituals
Moments of ease and indulgence. Convenience meets pleasure.15% of total occasions
Stop & Go – a quick bite, often on the move
Sofa & Chill – evening snacks, usually in front of a screen
Weekend Reward – a special treat or drink to mark downtime
