The convenience (it makes it easy for me), health, and happiness are the three pillars on which consumer motivations revolve when buying food (to which the price factor must be added, due to the considerable increase in the shopping basket in recent years).
According to the Food Consumption Report conducted in 2025 by Kantar for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, and based on the tracking of the shopping basket of 12,000 people, convenience is the first factor that consumers consider when buying, followed by pleasure and in third place health, which, although it loses weight as a main reason, is increasingly related to healthy habits.
From Lantern, a strategy and innovation consultancy that helps brands anticipate mass consumption, after conducting a survey of a thousand adults aged 18 to 65, they found that health and happiness linked to food present two different maps.
For Spaniards, olive oil, serrano or iberian ham, and eggs are the products that bring the most happiness, followed by nuts, ice cream, cured cheese, legumes, or chocolate.
On the health side, legumes are also the first in the ranking of the healthiest foods for respondents, followed by salad, eggplant, broccoli, fish, and olive oil.
Almost 60% of respondents believe that the Mediterranean diet is being lost and that current society eats worse than before.
Living longer
The survey conducted by Lantern also asks about longevity and health. Spain has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, with an average of 81 years for men and 86 for women. However, respondents reflect that they would like to live until 88 years old. To improve their longevity, 38% take supplements, a market that, according to market data, exceeds 2 billion euros in Spain.
In this line, 58% of respondents want to increase their intake of proteins and fiber, (the actual fiber consumption in Spain is around 12-17 grams per day although the recommended daily intake is 25-30 grams), so, according to Lantern's analysis, fiber-enriched products currently represent a marginal percentage on the shelves and have a growth opportunity.
On the other hand, a fact to take into account regarding lifestyle habits and health is the incidence of overweight in Spain, which is very high since in 2020 55.8% of adults had excess weight of which 18.7% were obese and 37% overweight.
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The shopping basket in 2025: more times were bought, but fewer foods and at a higher price
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