Canadians and Americans do eat differently: study

Toronto – Two recent studies have found that Canadians and Americans have very different palates.

The studies, which are from market research firm The NPD Group, are called A Look into the Future of Eating-Canadian Marketplace, and A Look into the Future of Eating-United States Marketplace and were released in late May.

What they found was that Canadians are fond of salty or savoury snack foods – like cheese, potato chips and crackers – and their consumption of these foods will outpace population growth over the next decade.

Americans, on the other hand, were found to have more of a sweet tooth than a salty one and are projected to increase their consumption of sweet snacks and desserts three times more than Canadians within the next 10 years.

Breakfast

The studies also found marked differences between our choices for breakfast foods.

Americans’ consumption of heat-and-eat foods, such as bagels and frozen pancakes, is projected to increase. Canadians, however, will be decreasing their consumption of those same products.

Americans are also likely to increase their consumption of salads, warm side dishes and main dish proteins, like meat or fish, in the next 10 years – at higher rates than Canadians.

Similarities

The studies found that convenience is a key factor in the consumption of foods with both Canadians and Americans. Easy meals, such as yogurt, fruit and snack bars, and heat-and-eat entrees, like canned soup and frozen pizza, are projected to grow almost equally in both countries over the next 10 years.