Carve out a life that's uniquely me! The food consciousness of "modern moms" and future well-being

This series ( survey overview here ) introduces the reality of "modern moms" (moms raising infants aged 0-2) by extracting and comparing moms' attitudes and values across various categories in 2014 and 2022, conducted by the Dentsu Inc. Mom Lab team.

Part 1 covered "Self-Awareness and Family Values," and Part 2 examined "Career Awareness." Part 3 explores "Food and Health Awareness" centered on modern moms.

<Table of Contents>
▼ Liberation from the "Homemade Myth": Prioritizing "Shared Family Time"

▼ Social Good Benefits Both Family and Self

▼ Moving Beyond Exhausted Moms: Aiming for a Healthy, Beautiful Self

▼ Living While Managing Vague Discomfort

▼ The Future of Moms' Well-being

▼ "Modern Mom" Food & Health Awareness: 3 Key Points

Breaking Free from the "Homemade Myth": Shifting Focus to "Shared Family Time"

As mentioned in previous installments, over 75% of moms now work. We've entered an era where "working while raising children" is becoming the norm. This shift in consciousness and values—freeing moms from past "shoulds" and emphasizing "being true to oneself"—is also evident in dietary attitudes.

Using Dentsu Inc.'s large-scale database, this survey compared dietary attitudes between 2014 and 2022. Scores increased for statements like "I think ready-made frozen foods are convenient and save time (87.7%→97.5%)" and "I often eat meals with my family (77.3%→85.0%)" – indicating a shift towards reducing the effort of cooking from scratch to secure family time. Conversely, the statement "I always make sure my children eat breakfast (79.7% → 72.9%)" showed a declining trend, indicating a weakening of fixed notions about "how meals should be."

These shifts in mindset can be attributed to a backlash against increased household burdens during the pandemic, as well as accelerated service offerings designed to reduce such burdens and meet evolving needs. Indeed, the frozen food and meal delivery markets are growing. Beyond frozen foods and delivery, online voices increasingly posit that "using convenience store meals for dinner is totally fine!" and "using store-bought baby food is a learning experience!" – valuing "time-saving" meal solutions as smart, personal choices.

In terms of communication, messages from companies that affirm the value of reducing household burdens and emphasize how this creates more happy family time seem to resonate with modern moms.

Social good benefits both family and self

Amid ongoing inflation dubbed "record-breaking price hikes" and "a wave of price increases," thriftiness is reportedly on the rise. Within this context, a new trend around the dinner table emerged: "Almonde" (meaning "with what you have"), focusing on creatively using up ingredients already at home rather than buying new ones.

Search trends on major recipe sites show searches for "ingredient names" are growing faster than searches for "menu names." Our survey also found that, based on 2022 data, 46.5% of respondents "are careful not to create food waste (discard food)." This indicates that even busy moms juggling childcare and housework are creatively using up ingredients to keep meals going.

Furthermore, considering the mandatory "plastic bag fee" implemented on July 1, 2020, nearly 80% of mothers ("78.8%") reported "bringing their own eco-bags when shopping," indicating widespread eco-bag usage.

These results suggest that environmental and eco-consciousness is evolving from a societal issue to something families naturally take action on, recognizing it as beneficial for themselves and their households.

Looking at interest in environmental issues by children's age, the chart below shows a clear upward trend with age, peaking when children are in elementary or junior high school.

Factors contributing to this include not only school education but also the active promotion of SDGs-focused programs at venues where parents and children can participate together, such as events during long school breaks or family outings. For example, facilities offering parent-child activities host events like "Let's Try Eating Insects!" We believe that having such shared experiences also helps moms feel environmental issues are more personally relevant.

Escaping exhaustion, moms want to pursue a healthy and beautiful self

Next, let's look at moms' health awareness.

Comparing health-related attitudes between 2014 and 2022: * "I don't mind spending money on non-insurance-covered treatments (dental, eye, cosmetic, etc.)" (10.0% → 23.1%) * "I have my own way to relieve stress" (24.2% → 32.9%) "I don't mind spending a little extra if it benefits my health (13.2% → 17.7%)" and "I have foods or drinks I habitually consume daily for health reasons (18.4% → 28.5%)".

This shift in mindset likely stems from the high employment rate and financial independence of these mothers. This growing desire to be healthy and beautiful "in their own way" suggests a modern mom archetype: one who maintains social connections and focuses on self-care even after becoming a mother, rather than the traditional image of a mother prioritizing household chores and childcare over her own needs.

Managing vague discomfort while living life

Similarly, another category showing significant score growth since 2014 is "Symptoms causing distress (Premenstrual Syndrome [PMS] 19.4% → 29.4%)." This 10-point increase in distress scores may reflect mothers feeling greater burden due to increased roles both at home and in society.

However, a crucial point to note is the emerging trend: mothers who previously accepted or ignored their vague discomfort despite experiencing symptoms are now beginning to acknowledge it, manage it within their capabilities, and learn to cope effectively.

Recently, the femtech market—aiming to solve women's physical changes through technology—and the menotech market—supporting women experiencing menopausal discomfort—are both showing growth trends. This further suggests that women are gradually gaining more positive ways and options to confront their physical conditions.

The Future of Mothers' Well-being

For women considering having children in the future, pregnancy and childbirth are undeniably major life-stage turning points. As women's participation in the workforce advances, the struggles of women forced to choose between career and childbearing (or trying to conceive) are also becoming more visible. One life choice gaining attention as a way to balance career and childbearing is "egg freezing."

It gained attention when female Olympic athletes, who face significant physical impacts and are acutely forced to choose between childbirth and their careers (continuing active participation), shared their personal experiences regarding "egg freezing." Furthermore, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government announced it will expand financial assistance for "egg freezing" to healthy women starting in fiscal year 2023, extending beyond those in special occupations or specific circumstances. This will likely become a topic of discussion, including both support and criticism, as one option for women considering future motherhood to shape their own life plans.

Addressing physical changes is important, but the mental well-being of mothers is also a crucial challenge. Until now, care for the burdens associated with childbirth and the postpartum period has tended to focus on allowing the physical body to rest after delivery. Recently, however, there has been a growing movement to support creating "me-time" for mothers. Magazine features have been dedicated to "proposing me-time," and within the travel industry, "wellness (health) tourism" promotes solo travel plans specifically for mothers.

The Japan Tourism Agency defines "wellness (health) tourism" as "a new form of tourism where visitors travel to regions rich in nature, experience the local natural environment, hot springs, and healthful cuisine, and achieve physical and mental healing, recovery, enhancement, and maintenance of health." Its market size is estimated at approximately 96 trillion yen (as of 2022). The emergence of services specifically targeting mothers within this market represents a trend unique to our current era.

Support focusing on the psychological aspects of mothers' well-being is also expanding. During the childbirth and child-rearing period, when balancing self-control (situations one can manage independently) and other-control (situations difficult to manage alone) is challenging, the increasing availability of time and choices for self-control is considered a crucial element for mothers to live their lives authentically.

Food and Health Awareness of "Modern Moms": 3 Key Points

The food and health awareness of "modern moms," examined in Part 3, can be summarized in three key points: "Shifting focus from time spent on tasks to time spent together," "Eco-consciousness evolving from societal efforts to actions at home that benefit both individuals and society," and "Controlling both body and mind to be 'true to oneself.'"

This survey revealed that within their food and health consciousness, modern moms are striving to live their lives while also valuing their own feelings. As Mama Lab, which operates under the concept "When moms smile, Japan smiles. When moms smile, the world smiles," we intend to keep a close eye on the trends among these modern moms.

The fourth installment will cover the theme of "Shopping Awareness."

[Survey Overview]
Data Source: Dentsu Inc. d-campX Surveys (2014/2022)
Survey Area: Kanto Region
Sample Size: Mothers with infants n=310 (2014) / n=273 (2022)
　　　　　*n values may vary slightly due to data collection being split into multiple sessions
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