6. Conclusion: a complex consumer in a changing world

Food consumption in high-income countries remains a basic function rooted in a history as old as that of mankind, but it has undergone accelerated change since the stage of satiation was globally reached, i.e. for just a few decades in most countries.

Satiation does not mean saturation. We can see that new factors are taking over from demographic growth, which has come to an end in old Europe: product sophistication through the incorporation of added value, hypersegmentation of markets through the ever finer identification of consumer groups, changes in consumption habits both in terms of where and when, and the emergence of new behaviors linked to emerging values. The search for convenience and the development of out-of-home catering are driving food spending; the destructuring of traditional meals, with the rise of snacking at all hours of the day and night, is...