Healthy foods segment a growing trend during Covid-19 pandemic

Nuts, coconut oil or ghee butter - these are just some of the foods that have become increasingly popular during the Covid-19 pandemic, Czech Radio reported, citing newly released data by the largest Czech deal-of-the day website Slevomat. Overall, the segment of healthy foods increased by over 70 percent in 2020.

According to data released by Slevomat, there has also been a growing interest in food boxes. For instance, the company Vital Box saw a 100-percent increase in the number of customers last year.

According to the data, most people purchasing ready-to-eat food boxes are between the ages of 25 and 55, and they are mostly women.

"People are spending more time at home. They are getting tired of cooking and inventing new recipes. They also want to get in shape but don’t have the know-how concerning the right amount of calories," company co-owner Jakub Kraus told Czech Radio. According to his estimate, a diet consisting of ready-to-eat food boxes costs around CZK 10,000 a month.

The coronavirus pandemic has also increased the demand for healthy foods in shops. According to Slevomat, sales of products from the category of healthy foods increased year-on-year by 71 percent in 2020. People spent CZK 610 on average on such products, which is an increase by CZK 120 on the previous year.

"The demand for nuts, dried fruits and seeds has increased even more, growing by 82 percent last year," the company’s spokesman Tomáš Holý told Czech Radio.

Kamila Hladká, head of the Prague-based health food store NATU, has also registered a growing interest in healthy foods. Last year alone, the company’s sales of health food products increased by 200 percent and registers continual growth.

“Our most popular products include nut creams, breakfast granola and super gluten-free porridge, lyophilized fruit as well as protein chips and pasta," Mrs. Hladká told Czech Radio.
On the contrary, Czechs have lost interest in the so-called superfoods, such as chia seeds, which saw a drop in sales by almost 50 percent last year.