Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
I’ll take the healthy food, with a side of values and purpose
Groceries | Retail
December 7, 2020 – Grocery shoppers’ preference for healthy food has been on the rise through the pandemic. But they’re also increasingly seeking brands with strong purpose and good values.
To read the article, see “How European shoppers will buy groceries in the next normal,” December 2, 2020.
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Visual form
Category comparison chart.
Layout / body structure
The chart is a single comparison view that lines up the grocery attributes consumers care about in one panel. Read across the listed attributes to compare which themes sit highest and which ones cluster lower, then use the short notes to interpret what that ordering means.
What is being compared
It compares the average EU-5 net sentiment toward different grocery-shopping priorities, including healthy food and a set of ethical or purpose-led brand attributes. The visual is contrasting product and brand themes rather than time periods or countries.
Measurement system
The measure is net sentiment, so the reader is tracking positive versus negative consumer response rather than raw purchase volume. Category labels identify the themes being rated, and the chart positions those themes on the same sentiment scale.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The graphic is organized as one ranked attribute comparison, with the strongest themes placed more prominently and the lower-priority themes grouped beneath them on the same scale. The chart is designed to show the distance between healthy-food preferences and the growing but still secondary emphasis on values, purpose, and environmental or ethical considerations.
Main takeaway from the visual
Healthy food is still the clearest priority in the grocery basket, but purpose and values are no longer peripheral. The chart makes that visible by placing health at the top while also showing that brand purpose and related ethical attributes carry meaningful positive sentiment across the EU-5.
Key standout values or extremes
The strongest visible extreme is that healthy food sits above the rest of the comparison set, while values-and-purpose themes still register as clearly positive rather than neutral. This page leans more on the ordering and separation of the categories than on one oversized numeric label.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.