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2026 Food & Beverage Marketing Study
How consumer tastes are changing in light of GLP-1 Use, AI advancements, and affordability concerns
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Food and beverage brands are navigating a complex landscape, with rising prices forcing shoppers to change their habits and new developments like the growing use of GLP-1 drugs influencing priorities. Given an increasingly sprawling customer journey aided by AI platforms and the natural ebbs and flows of shifting tastes and health trends, it’s crucial for food and beverage marketers to stay on top of what their customers want today.
To better understand how new technologies, platforms, and nutritional trends are influencing consumers, Tinuiti surveyed 1,000 food and beverage shoppers in September 2026. The results help brands understand the changing landscape and how shoppers are actually making purchase decisions.
Affordability Is Key for Grocery Shoppers With Nearly Three in Four Saying Prices Have Gotten Worse Over the Past Year
Asked how they think grocery price inflation has changed over the past year, 74% of respondents believe it’s gotten worse, compared to just 12% who think it’s gotten better. Sentiment is overwhelmingly negative across age groups, but is worse among older respondents.
Rising grocery prices are pushing shoppers to cut costs in different ways. Half are buying cheaper brands, with 44% turning to store brands more often. Many are changing where they shop, with 41% heading to cheaper stores. Just 7% of respondents say that inflation hasn’t impacted their food and beverage shopping.
Younger shoppers are much more willing to say they are shopping at cheaper stores than older shoppers, with 50% of Gen Z saying so, compared to just 29% of baby boomers.
How Has GLP-1 Use and the Rise of AI Platforms Changed How Consumers Approach Food and Beverage Discovery and Purchases?
The full report explores these topics and more with insights for food and beverage marketers including:
- How GLP-1 users are shifting their spending and the food and beverage attributes they are prioritizing.
- The expansive role that AI platforms play for tasks ranging from comparing food and beverage products to creating grocery lists.
- Where shoppers are most likely to discover new food and beverage products including the specific social and streaming platforms.
- How grocery delivery services stack up against brick-and-mortar options and who is most likely to use them.
Browse Last YEar’s Insights
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