Schaefer Research · April 2026

Who is the F&B shopper — and where do they buy from?

We study F&B buyers because our campaigns depend on it. These reports are the same research we run for our clients, applied to the broader U.S. market. Interactive, free, and ungated — because research locked behind a form isn't research, it's a lead gen tactic.

No email required
Interactive & self-guided
Schaefer in-house research team
Three reports. One question.
How does media consumption shape the way F&B shoppers discover and buy?

The social-first shopper, the TV-first shopper, and the streaming-first shopper are three different buyers with different motivators, different discovery patterns, and different paths to purchase. Each one requires a different creative and channel strategy.

Social
First
TV
First
Streaming
First
Published Reports

Three shopper profiles. Each one a different advertising problem.

Each report profiles a distinct F&B buyer segment defined by their primary media consumption — and maps what that means for how they discover products, what motivates their purchase decisions, and which ad formats reach them.

Report 01 · Social
Meet the Social-First Food & Beverage Shopper
The social-first F&B shopper discovers products through feeds, follows, and viral moments. They're more likely to impulse-buy based on creator content, more receptive to UGC-style creative, and have a shorter path from discovery to purchase than any other segment. This report maps who they are, what drives them, and what F&B brands need to know to reach them effectively.
U.S. F&B Shoppers April 2026 Schaefer Research
Read the Report
Report 02 · Traditional TV
Meet the Traditional TV-First Food & Beverage Shopper
The TV-first F&B shopper is shaped by decades of broadcast advertising. They respond to brand familiarity, consistent messaging, and the authority signals that come from mass-market presence. Understanding this shopper is critical for any F&B brand that runs linear TV — or that wants to understand why some buyers don't respond to digital-first creative at all.
U.S. F&B Shoppers April 2026 Schaefer Research
Read the Report
Report 03 · Streaming
Meet the Streaming Video-First Food & Beverage Shopper
The streaming-first F&B shopper sits between social and linear TV — they've opted out of broadcast but haven't fully shifted to social-driven discovery. They're engaged, increasingly reachable through CTV and streaming ads, and represent a growing share of premium F&B buyers. This report examines what moves them and how their media habits shape their buying behavior.
U.S. F&B Shoppers April 2026 Schaefer Research
Read the Report
About These Reports

Proprietary research. No sponsorship. No agenda other than understanding the buyer.

These reports come from Schaefer's in-house research team — the same team that runs buyer interviews and surveys for every client engagement. We publish them because understanding how F&B shoppers buy is foundational to everything we do, and we'd rather share what we learn than keep it internal.

They're interactive and self-guided — built to be explored, not just read. No email gate. No form. No follow-up sequence.

In every report
Shopper profile
Who this buyer is — demographics, purchase frequency, category behavior, and what distinguishes them from other F&B shoppers.
In every report
Discovery patterns
How they find new products, which channels influence them, and what triggers the initial purchase decision.
In every report
Ad implications
What this means for creative strategy, channel selection, and messaging — grounded in the buyer psychology, not channel convention.
Schaefer Research Methodology
U.S.
Market scope
2026
Published
In-house
Research team
Free
No email gate
Related Reading

The frameworks behind the research.

These reports are built on top of Schaefer's proprietary buyer psychology frameworks — available free in The Pantry.

Framework
The Why People Buy Pyramid
The layered psychological model behind every F&B purchase decision — the foundation these shopper profiles are mapped against.
Read the framework →
Framework
Segmentation 101
How to define, prioritize, and activate buyer segments in F&B paid media — directly applicable to the three shopper profiles in these reports.
Read the framework →
Perspective
Creative Is the New Targeting
Why reaching different shopper profiles now depends on creative specificity more than audience targeting — and what that means for each segment.
Read the perspective →
Work With Schaefer

Your buyers are in here somewhere. Let's find them.

Every Schaefer engagement starts with buyer research — the same approach behind these reports, applied specifically to your brand and category.

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