Understanding When Diners Eat Rice

While it’s easy to measure which rice dishes diners order, it’s difficult to know the benefits consumers are seeking with their order. A diner may be ordering rice dishes because it’s part of their routine, or consuming rice as part of a fresh, nutritious meal. To learn about the many different occasions for consuming rice, Riceland Foods invested in a national survey, comprising of 3,000 rice diners. In addition to providing insight into specific diner segments, the survey aimed to capture a broad range of topics from lifestyle and rice category motivations and attitudes to palate preferences to basic demographics.

Consumer Need States at a Glance

The survey found that most rice diners consume rice in one of six different occasions, informing the benefits they seek from rice, their dining methods and even the nutritional benefits they look for in dishes.

• On the Go Indulgence - A great tasting, indulgent quick evening meal
• Health with Great Taste - A balance of flavor, nutrition and sustainable benefits
• Fresh & Nutritious - A fresh, nutritious meal during the week, alone or with one other person
• Weekend Gathering - A frequent, casual dining experience typically on the weekends 
• Mindless Craving - A meal that is filling, fast and easy to eat for dinner,
• My Routine - A regular weekday meal where rice is often used as a side dish 

Impact Need States Have on Rice Consumption

Although specific need states happen more frequently than others, the different need states do not maintain that share when spending money on rice. In fact, the share of occasions oftentimes does not equal their share of spend on those occasions. Occasions focused on health with great taste are 20% more valuable  whereas diners who are consuming rice for mindless cravings and on the go indulgence are 10% less valuable.