The average American spends over $3,000 each year eating out, but with limited access to healthy options in suburban and rural areas, people can struggle with proper nutrition as a result. But there’s a shift underway; eateries in suburban America are following the inner-city by getting healthier.

With obesity at the forefront of many consumers’ minds, they are looking for healthier snacking options. In response, snack and beverage brands are implementing new strategies, including reducing portion sizes, ‘premiumising’ their products and using clearer labelling.

As tastes become more international and health becomes a top concern, more Americans are looking beyond supermarkets to find new flavours that surprise and delight. Canvas8 spoke to 20 people from across the US to understand what occasions lead them to visit specialty food stores.

Food brands Kellogg Co. and Frito Lays are being sued by health-conscious consumers, over the veracity of their ‘natural’ flavouring claims. Brands are attempting to appeal to the growing desire for natural foods, but savvy shoppers have grown wise to misleading claims and are rejecting them.