The marketing of food has become a precarious process with that species known as the consumer becoming more unpredictable in what it eats.
Today's consumer is no longer eating to stay alive. Factors such as mood, the search for experience, stress and the demands of work can determine what is eaten, said Mr Jules Noten of Van Den Burgh Foods.
Snacking, known in the business as "grazing", has become an international trend, threatening the daily family meal, Mr Noten told the IBEC conference.
Food companies could no longer depend on expertise in ingredients, Mr Noten went on. Greater understanding of consumer habits was needed.
"The consumer is moving from cooking as a daily necessity to cooking as a weekly passion," he said. "Life isn't about products anymore but the people who use them."
Food retail expert Dr Ned Dunn of the University of St Joseph's, Philadelphia, said: "My children, now adults, want to come through the door, pick up a complete meal - preferably without spending more than seconds in the selection process - and be on their way. Except on weekends, when they want the ingredients so they can pursue their new hobby - and it's called cooking."
Whether consumers want to order groceries over the Internet had yet to be determined.
"If it takes hold, bye bye any number of traditional grocers. The research suggests 80 per cent of the population puts grocery shopping right in there with hog slopping. It's not very popular."
