T. Ozbun
Research expert covering food retail and all food topics for Italy and Brazil
Food shopping behavior in Brazil - statistics & facts
Traditional Brazilian cuisine, regional specialties, and local ingredients often have a significant influence in shaping food choices. In a country famous for its barbecues and steakhouses, meat is not the only focus, as Brazilians also typically prioritize fresh produce, grains, and dairy products when shopping for food. Although the food industry in Brazil has experienced growth over the past decade, the cost of living has risen sharply in recent months due to inflation, impacting the price of food and drink. While the situation has improved slightly in 2023 compared to 2022, half of Brazilian consumers still anticipated spending more on groceries.
Store choice and buying behavior
In 2023, the average household in Brazil spent just under two thousand reals a year on food, nearly 30 percent more than the previous year. While the price of food still remained an important criteria in purchasing decisions, it was not the primary factor for Brazilians. Freshness, quality, and taste of food were deemed more influential in determining their purchasing choices. Although online shopping was popular in the country, Brazilians still preferred physical stores for their groceries. More than half of Brazilians utilized between five to seven different shopping channels, with supermarkets preferred when buying groceries. Among consumers, Atacadão and Assaí Atacadista were the most popular brands, with the latter also ranking second among the leading supermarkets and food retail stores in the country.Online channel
Despite the popularity and preference for in-store purchases, online grocery shopping was still in demand, as shown by the number of visits to food and beverage e-commerce platforms, which mostly stayed above 90 million between 2021 and 2022 . Brazilian’s favorite online grocery store was Carrefour , which was also the country's leading food retailer when it came to revenue. While non-food categories were generally preferred for online purchases by consumers in Brazil, food and beverages remained a popular category, with nearly a third of the consumers in the country opting to buy them online.Sustainability and environmentalism
According to a 2022 survey, sustainability and environmentally-friendly practices have been gaining attention among Brazilian consumers, with more than 60 percent of the population being willing to pay more for healthy and sustainable food. There has been an increasing awareness of the environmental impact of food production, leading many Brazilians to consider the environmental sustainability of packaged food and beverages when deciding on their purchases. Additionally, organic food products have also taken a leap in popularity, with more than a third of Brazilians consuming them in 2023, representing a more than double increase compared to half a decade before .
