Christmas Food Gifting: Growth Opportunities Present as Families Social Distance, reports Packaged Facts

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Dec 07, 2020, 10:57 ET

ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The winter holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa) remain a food gifting mainstay: some 45% of those who have purchased food gifts for others in the last 12 months have done so for the winter holidays, while 25% of those who have purchased food gifts for themselves have done so during this period. This makes the winter holidays the most popular food gifting occasion—outpacing other prime food gifting occasions such as Valentine's Day, birthdays, and Mother's Day. The findings are based on a 2020 national online survey by market research firm Packaged Facts and are featured in the report Consumer and Corporate Food Gifting in the U.S., 7th Edition.

"Traditionally, many of the winter holidays place a focus upon family and fellowship around a dinner table. Thus, meal-oriented food gifts are an attractive option for the winter holidays, especially when meals together may be limited this year," says Jennifer Mapes-Christ, food and beverage publisher for Packaged Facts.

Despite the strong performance during the winter holidays, there's still plenty of opportunity for growth. This is especially true in 2020 when food gifts could potentially be a preferable option for gift giving during the coronavirus pandemic because they are practical, easy to ship, comforting, and a good way to send cheer to someone who cannot be visited because of social distancing.

"More than 90% of U.S. adults celebrated Christmas, Kwanza, or Hanukah during last year. This translates to more than 235 million people, revealing that food gift marketers have plenty of opportunities to target holiday celebrators who do not buy food gifts, especially with many Americans choosing to restrict their gathering as part of precautions to limit potential exposure to COVID-19," says Mapes-Christ.

Food gifts for the winter holidays may specify "happy holidays" to acknowledge that many holidays are celebrated in the winter, or may indicate a particular holiday that the gift recipient celebrates, such as Christmas. Many food gifts given around the winter holidays also use holiday symbols in their packaging and decorations, such as snowflakes, snowmen, Christmas trees, Hanukkah dreidels, and more. Coloring is also important, with gold, silver, red, and green being especially associated with winter holidays.

However, many food gifts marketed for the winter holidays have a universal look and only seek to give an appearance of high quality. For instance, only a few of the food gifts marketed by a company as suitable for Christmas may explicitly feature popular yuletide imagery such as snowmen or festive trees. The rest of the gifts may look like they could be given for nearly any occasion with an emphasis on colors or patterns instead of holiday-specific images.

About the Report

Purchase Consumer and Corporate Food Gifting in the U.S., 7th Edition at: https://www.packagedfacts.com/Consumer-Corporate-Food-Gifting-Edition-13120163/. The analysis in this report accounts for the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the food gifting market's performance in 2020.

Combining Packaged Facts' extensive monitoring of the food and beverage market with proprietary surveys conducted in 2020, Consumer and Corporate Food Gifting in the U.S., 7th Edition is the go-to source for a complete understanding of the U.S. food gifting market. This report evaluates current trends and future directions for marketing and retailing, along with consumer patterns across the food gifting market and broader food and beverage market.

Please contact Packaged Facts' Communications Manager Daniel Granderson at [email protected] to request the report executive summary.

About Packaged Facts

Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at our company website and are also available through MarketResearch.com.

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SOURCE Packaged Facts