The Rise of the Situation Consumer - Discover the consumer trends reshaping the UK FMCG food market

What influences a consumer's food choices in 2026?

For years, the answer might have been straightforward: convenience, health, or price.

Today, it's much more complicated.

Consumers are navigating rising living costs, evolving health priorities, increasingly busy lifestyles, and a constant stream of new food inspiration online. Rather than being driven by a single motivation, they're balancing multiple priorities every time they fill their basket.

For FMCG brands, that creates both a challenge and an opportunity.

Our latest market intelligence report, The Rise of the Situational Consumer, explores the behavioural shifts redefining the UK food market and what they mean for brands looking to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive landscape.

What you'll discover inside the report

Drawing on consumer conversation data from across the UK, this report explores how food purchasing behaviour is evolving and where the biggest opportunities now exist for FMCG brands.

Inside, you'll discover:

• Why today's consumers are becoming increasingly situational in the way they shop, cook, and eat.
• How convenience is evolving beyond speed into flexibility and practicality.
• Why health is becoming less about dieting and more about freshness, ingredients, and food quality.
• How inflation and cost-of-living pressures continue to shape purchasing decisions, and why value now means more than simply low prices.
• Which food categories are adapting successfully, and which are under increasing pressure.
• Why trust is emerging as one of the food industry's most important competitive advantages.
• Practical strategic recommendations for product development, innovation, branding, retail, and marketing strategy.

Whether you're responsible for product development, category management, brand strategy or marketing, the report is designed to help you understand not just what consumers are doing, but why they're behaving differently.

A market that's changing faster than ever

One of the strongest findings from this year's research is that consumers no longer fit neatly into traditional audience segments.

The same person might prioritise convenience during a busy working week, healthier food as summer approaches, value before payday, and experimentation when they have more disposable income.

This shift towards more fluid and adaptable behaviour is changing how brands need to think about innovation, communication, and long-term strategy. Instead of designing products around fixed consumer profiles, FMCG brands increasingly need to understand the situations consumers are trying to solve every day.

That's where the biggest opportunities now exist.

Why this matters for FMCG brands

Consumer expectations are becoming more complex. People expect food to be convenient, but they also want it to feel fresh. They want healthier options without sacrificing taste. They want quality products that still represent good value. And they increasingly want transparency around ingredients, sourcing, and pricing.

For brands, these aren't isolated trends. They're interconnected expectations that are reshaping the entire market.

Understanding those shifts is essential for developing products, campaigns and customer experiences that remain relevant as consumer behaviour continues to evolve.