ACNielsen Consumer Pre-View Service Identifies Changes in Consumer Behavior.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2002

More Meals at Home, Strong Interest in Healthy Eating From

African-Americans Among Windows of Opportunity

Identified for Consumer Packaged Goods Industry

ACNielsen U.S., an operating unit of ACNielsen, a VNU company, today released the latest research from its new Consumer Pre-View service. Key findings, released here during the annual Food Marketing Institute convention, include:

-    Consumers are planning to cut back on restaurant dinners
-    The most important consumers in the `dining-at-home' trend may be
     Gen X'ers
-    Sentiment toward American-made grocery products has declined
     since its post-9/11 highs
-    Ethnic shoppers, particularly African-Americans, are embracing
     healthy eating

In the latest survey, conducted among more than 21,000 households in March and April 2002, 36% of respondents said they are planning to dine out less often - up from 27% in the last survey, which was conducted in December 2001 and January 2002. Driving up the overall figure were households who reported being better off or the same financially as they were a year ago.

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Do you plan to dine out for dinner more often, as often, or less often
during the next three months as compared to the same time a year ago?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Total        Better Off/The Same       Worse Off
----------------------------------------------------------------------
          Dec/Jan  March/April Dec/Jan March/April Dec/Jan March/April
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Less Often  27%        36%       21%       34%       45%       45%
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Nick Sorvillo, senior vice president, ACNielsen Homescan(R), said, "It's noteworthy that even though the economy has improved since our first survey, more people are planning to scale back on eating out. And now a significant number of the people who are most likely to dine out, those who are doing well, are saying they, too, plan to cut back on restaurant dinners. Now is the time for consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketers to show consumers what they have to offer in the way of foods that are easy to prepare at home and meet or exceed the quality standards consumers expect from restaurants."

Asked about the frequency with which they have been eating dinner at home with their families in the past six months, the youngest households were most likely to answer "more often," as detailed in the chart below.

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Would you say that you have been eating dinner at home, together with
your family, more often, as often, or less often during the past 6
months as compared to the same time a year ago?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                      Total     18-34     35-44     45-54      55+
----------------------------------------------------------------------
More Often              19%      30%       20%       17%       12%
----------------------------------------------------------------------

According to Phil Lempert, an expert on consumer and marketing trends, "We are seeing a new generation of people who enjoy making and eating meals at home. It's something of a backlash against the eat-on-the-run baby boomers."

One diminishing opportunity is consumer sentiment toward buying American-made grocery products. In the first survey, conducted in December 2001 and January 2002, more than one-third of households said they were more likely to buy such products than they were a year ago, likely the result of a rising sense of patriotism following the events of 9/11. The more recent survey found only 21 percent expressing such sentiment.

However, Hispanic consumers, especially those who are the least acculturated, still show a strong sentiment toward "buying American." The table below shows responses from the ACNielsen Homescan Hispanic Consumer Panel in Los Angeles. The 1,500-household panel fully represents the Hispanic population in LA in terms of language preference, a proxy for acculturation.

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Are you more likely, as likely, or less likely to purchase
American-made grocery products now as compared to the same time a year
ago?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                       Non-    Hispanic   Only/    Bilingual   Only/
                     Hispanic           Prefer to           Prefer to
                                          Speak               Speak
                                         Spanish             English
----------------------------------------------------------------------
More Likely             19%       51%       63%       44%       17%
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Consumer Pre-View found that more African-Americans than whites (31% vs. 25%) reported eating healthier in the past six months than last year. It also found more African-Americans than whites (81% vs. 65%) are planning to eat healthier in the next six months.

ACNielsen's Nick Sorvillo said greater public awareness of health concerns that are unique to African-Americans, such as an increased risk for diabetes, may be responsible. "The companies who recognize this opportunity and make a commitment to understanding and serving the unique healthy food needs of African-American consumers are highly likely to meet with success."

Consumer Pre-View has two components. The first links changes in the Consumer Sentiment Index as measured by the University of Michigan to changes in consumer purchasing as measured by the ACNielsen Homescan consumer panel. The service was the first to measure the impact that changes in consumer sentiment have on CPG purchasing. The second component consists of quarterly attitudinal surveys designed to help marketers communicate their messages most effectively in light of the anticipated consumer spending changes.

ACNielsen, a VNU company, is the world's leading marketing information company. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the company provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.

An expert on consumer issues, marketing trends, new products and retailing, Phil Lempert is a respected analyst to both industry and consumers. Known as the Supermarket Guru(R), Lempert publishes and is the food trends editor and correspondent for NBC News' TODAY Show. Lempert can be heard weekly on radio as host of the live call-in syndicated Shopping Smart(R) that airs in over 100 U.S. cities. Lempert is CEO of SupermarketGuru.com, the leading online resource providing consumers with food safety, products, trends and shopping tips. He is the author of several books including Being the Shopper: Understanding the Buyer's Choices.

Note to Editors: Look for this press release and other ACNielsen news on the Internet at http://acnielsen.com/news.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The "-" in Pre-View is an asterisk. It may not transmit in all systems.