Turkey Prices Up

7%

InsIghT #1: Best Deal on Big Birds?

0%

20%

40%

60%

10%

30%

50%

how do you plan to manage holiday food costs?

46%

will celebrate at home instead of

a restaurant

will purchase items with a

coupon

47%

will prepare dishes from

scratch

47%

will shop at several stores for the

best deals

66%

will purchase items on sale

48%

Poultry prices are showing the effect of summer’s widespread drought, with turkey prices rising 7% from a year ago. So how are smart shoppers planning to manage holiday food costs? Half plan to shop around town—a one-third increase over 2011—stopping at several stores to get the best deals and use coupons, and half will prepare dishes from scratch.

Top 5 approaches for saving holiday dollars

BEgInnIng In nOVEMBER, we monitor our seasonal traffic as it climbs every day. Home cooks seek holiday cooking inspiration, and searches soar the day before Thanksgiving—almost off the charts! Tradition, costs, social media, and the desire to create “homemade” meals to celebrate the season all affect consumers’ shopping, cooking and eating behaviors. As the #1 online food destination with more than one billion annual visits, Allrecipes.com is perfectly positioned to check the pulse of American home cooks—their attitudes, behaviors and interests, which all influence what’s in their shopping carts and on their forks, year-round and for the holidays. With an enthusiastic community spanning the country, ages and experience levels, we’re pleased to present these insights about holiday cooking and eating. Data is derived from Allrecipes 2012 Holiday Attitudes and Behavior Survey.*

2012 Holiday Trends 1Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

The Measuring CupWhat American Families are Eating and Cooking

HoliDAy 2012 TrenDS

InsIghT #4: Social inspiration

InsIghT #3: Sweet on Sweet Potatoes!

Millennials Generation X Baby Boomers

Under $500 $500 - $1000 Over $1000

InsIghT #2: Big (Holiday) SpendersSurvey results suggest 2012 holiday food spending will remain relatively consistent with 2011 levels. Those likely to spend the most on holiday activities are cooks aged 44 to 54; with 61% planning to spend more than $500. Millennial cooks and Baby Boomers plan to be more conservative with their spending.

how much do you expect to spend this year on holiday activities? (Ex. gifts, parties, travel, food, cards, etc.)

Searches for sweet potato recipes have surged 52% over the past four years. This growing popularity is likely a result of more households seeking to add more vegetables in their diet—and the introduction of sweet potato fries to quick-serve restaurant menus. This year 75% of home cooks will include sweet potatoes as part of their Thanksgiving feast.

The most popular Thanksgiving sweet potato recipes include:

1.Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole

2.Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

3.Candied Sweet Potatoes

4.Sweet Potato Pie I

5.Sweet Potato Pie II

6.Grandaddy’s Sweet Potato Meringue Pie

7.Sweet Potato Casserole II

8.Sweet Potato Pie

9.Baked Sweet Potatoes

10.All About Sweet Potatoes

This year, nearly 85% of home cooks will look to social/community sites for holiday inspiration. The social land-scape is changing the way Thanksgiving is celebrated, from planning and preparation, to cooking and enjoying the final meal with loved ones. Instead of the traditional printed recipe card swap, it’s now a virtual environment where cooks connect with each other online to share ideas and inspiration. Allrecipes.com and Pinterest are the top social sources cooks trust to help them with their holiday needs.

Sweet Potatoes

Pumpkin Pie

Sugar Cookies

2012 Holiday Trends 2Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

InsIghT #7: Holiday Help in your HandCooks of all ages now rely on their mobile devices to help them with all parts of meal planning and preparation. Of those owning mobile devices, 70% are searching for recipes while on the go, 29% are accessing savings offers, 36% make shopping lists, and 20% are viewing cooking videos. Of the more than 200 million visits projected for Allrecipes this holiday season, 40% are expected to come from mobile devices—nearly double what was seen last year.

InsIghT #5: eat This Picture

InsIghT #6: Moms Being replaced by Monitors

1.How to Cook a Turkey2.Perfect Mashed Potatoes3.Sweet Potato Puff4.How to Make Turkey Gravy5.How to Make Stuffing

30% % of home cooks who own 40%

70% search for recipes 37%

25% make shopping lists 36%

29% access coupons/savings offers 28%

38% while cooking 19%

20% watch cooking videos 6%

200 million visits projected for 2012, with 40% coming

from mobile devices

Video consumption continues to rise, and ‘how-to’ food videos are part of the surge. In fact, 1 in 5 home cooks say ‘having a video demonstration available’ is ‘important/extremely important’ when selecting dishes for holiday meals. These cooks look to their favorite recipe websites, including Allrecipes.com, for pointers on perfect-ing Thanksgiving dinner favorites. Data shows that the most viewed Thanksgiving videos on Allrecipes.com in the week leading up to the holiday in 2011 were:

When it comes to celebrating the foods we crave and eat, a photo is worth a thousand words (or calories). From selecting recipes to showcas-ing cooking successes, sites such as Allrecipes, Instagram and Pinterest have become popular resources which home cooks rely on for everyday and holiday inspiration. In some instances, this heavy focus on the visual appearance of a dish might disproportionately impact how we choose recipes—42% of online cookie bakers say that a cookie recipe must make a ‘very cool looking/pretty cookie’ in order to make it on their list.

In the past year, 30% of the most-pinned desserts from Allrecipes.com have been cookie recipes.

The Best Rolled Sugar Cookies

40% OWNTHIS

30% OWNTHIS

Smart-phoneOwners

TabletOwners

40% OWNTHIS

30% OWNTHIS

Smart-phoneOwners

TabletOwners

2012 Holiday Trends 3Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

InsIghT #8: Jello ‘Salad’ revival

InsIghT #9: no Guessing SizesHomemade gifts from the kitchen are holiday favorites for home cooks—because one size fits all and the price is right. This year, 46% of home cooks plan to prepare and share homemade food gifts. Topping the ‘most popular’ list is Fudge, along with Holiday Peppermint Bark or Pretzel Turtles, and Red and Green Christmas Jalapeño Jelly. Even Buster might find homemade dog biscuits under the tree.

InsIghT #10: Pumpkin: The ‘Jack’ of All TradesWith searches for pumpkin recipes on the rise year-over-year, up 23% for the food and lifestyle category, it’s hard to go wrong with a pumpkin dish for Thanksgiving dinner. From drinks, to desserts, to healthy options, pumpkin continues to be the go-to versatile ingredient during the holiday season. Be inspired with these Top 5 fastest growing pumpkin-related searches:

1.Pumpkin Pie

2.Pumpkin Cheesecake

3.Homemade Pumpkin Pie

4.Pumpkin Bread

5.Healthy Pumpkin Recipes

Since the turn of the 20th century, jello salad has been a staple on

many American Thanksgiving tables. This year, the wiggly salad is seeing

a resurgence. According to our holiday survey, 1 out of 5 Thanksgiving cooks

plan to include a jello salad with their meal. We suspect the growing popularity in jello is

being fueled by an increasing interest in 60s culture (think Mad Men), plus all the gorgeous photos

of jello creations being shared by cooks on Pinterest. Cooks located in the West and Midwest are significantly

more likely to serve jello salads at their Thanksgiving feasts than cooks in the South and Northeast.

2012 Holiday Trends 4Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup

Classic Thanksgiving dishes are something everyone looks forward to each year. In fact, 68% of online home cooks will rely on traditional favorites to fill holiday dinner plates. More seasoned cooks, those aged 55 and older, are the most likely to rely on traditional favorites (74% consider this important when selecting holiday dishes). At the other end of the spectrum, younger cooks (aged 25 to 34) are more likely to choose recipes based on positive ratings and reviews (64%).

About Allrecipes.comAllrecipes, the world’s largest digital food brand, receives more than 1 bil-lion annual visits from family-focused women who connect and inspire one another through photos, reviews, videos and blog posts. Since its launch in 1997, the Seattle-based social site has served as a dynamic, indispens-able resource for cooks of all skill levels seeking trusted recipes, entertain-ing ideas, everyday and holiday meal solutions and practical cooking tips. Allrecipes is a global, multiplatform brand providing insights into the lives of women everywhere based on activity from 18 websites, 18 mobile sites, 11 mobile apps, and 14 eBooks serving 23 countries in 12 languages. Allrecipes is part of Meredith Corporation, the leading media and marketing company serving American women. For additional information regarding Meredith, please visit www.meredith.com. For additional information regarding Allrecipes, please visit press.allrecipes.com.

MethodologyData provided is from an Allrecipes.com online survey of 1,434 U.S.-based participants fielded on the site from 9/27/12 – 10/1/12. No incentives were used to reward or incent participation.

Please Contact:stephanie RobinettDirector, Communications206.708.9271stephanier@allrecipes.com

BOnUs: Traditional Trumps Trendy

68% of online home cooks will rely on traditional favorites to fill holiday dinner plates74% of cooks aged 55 and older consider traditional favorites important

64% of cooks aged 25-34 will likely use reviews and ratings to choose recipes

Tradition Trumps Trendy

2012 Holiday Trends 5Allrecipes.com Measuring Cup