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Over the past 18 months, COVID has forced many of us to reconsider what we previously thought of as healthy eating habits. Borderless Access surveyed people’s changing eating habits around the world. Here we look at how people living in Sub-Saharan Africa (for this study we focused on Nigeria and South Africa) compared to their global peers, on this topic.

Sub-Saharan Africans are not health-trend followers

Worldwide, three-quarters of people have experimented with an aspect of their diet, with vegetarian preferences and low-sugar and low-fat options being the most popular. While almost 80% of Nigerians say they have tweaked their diet to some degree, around half of South Africans say they haven’t made any changes. Globally, there has been a dramatic shift towards meat-free diets, with 19% of all respondents admitting they had sought out vegan options. By contrast, only 6% of South Africans and 7% of Nigerians had done the same. This may be a reflection of the importance that meat-based meals play in these two cultures. However, when we looked at the number of people looking to reduce the amount of meat they ate overall, Sub-Saharan Africa followed closely behind international trends.

Facing the health crisis that COVID has provided has forced many of us to reconsider our personal well being. Coupled with this, we have been restricted to our homes, compelled to prepare our own food. Borderless Access surveyed people living in the Middle East, specifically the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, to see how these factors have affected the type of food people are eating and how people are getting this food.

A rise in health consciousness

Eliminating or reducing the amount of meat products they eat has been the most notable change in people’s diets since the start of the pandemic. Globally, 57% of people have experimented with vegan or vegetarian diets, with a further 20% saying they are consciously trying to eat less meat. Saudi Arabians follow this pattern (with a greater proportion of people opting for vegan as opposed to vegetarian meals). In the UAE there is still a dramatic shift towards meatless options, but to a lesser degree than its neighbour.

Following low-fat, low-sugar or low-carbohydrate diets has been popular everywhere, including in the Middle East, however, this group of people (especially Saudi Arabians) appear to be particularly health-conscious, with many people also trying to reduce gluten, salt and dairy products.

Understanding the market landscape of electric vehicles, intenders’ perception, barriers to adoption & marketing opportunities.

"The only constant in life is change!" When it comes to the automotive industry, one of the most significant changes that we have seen in recent years is the introduction of EVs. We are in the midst of an automotive revolution since Tesla revolutionized the industry with its first mass-produced highway-legal electric vehicle (EV) powered by a lithium-ion battery. As a result, automakers of all sizes have been rushing to launch their electric vehicles in order to provide consumers with an alternative to dealing with environmental concerns, rising fuel prices, and shifting consumer preferences. 

Considering the alarming stage of environmental hazards and soaring fuel prices, EV sales are steadily infiltrating the transportation industry. Are these concerns, however, enough to bring in a complete EV adoption worldwide? 

Even though the EV adoption rate is on a rise, they still constitute a small proportion of all vehicles on the road. But that could change very soon. Many industry observers believe that marketers have already passed the tipping point where EV sales will quickly outnumber those of gasoline and diesel vehicles. With technological capabilities improving and societal demand for sustainable solutions, the EV's time has come. However, it begs the question of whether challenges faced due to various infrastructural issues, high cost and limited options can impact the pace of global EV adoption.

Borderless Access examined the current EV landscape, barriers to adoption, brands to watch, and opportunities to market to potential EV buyers in the US, UK, Germany, France, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Nigeria, and Brazil markets. 

Remember the ‘Foodarackacycle’ machine from an episode of the 1962 animated series ‘The Jetsons’ that produced any food item at a click of a button? Back then, the home technology featured in the series was considered absurd. Around five decades later, even though we are yet to see floating buildings or flying cars, smart home technology has arrived and is thriving.

Emerging trends, rising desire for convenient lifestyles, tech-savvy consumers, as well as increased acceptance of cloud-based technologies have made the smart home market appear promising. On the flip side, there exist factors that might slow down the otherwise accelerated adoption rate for smart home devices.

The year 2020 has been an anomaly in all senses. This also applies to people’s interaction with various media platforms, both digital and traditional. The fact that for the first time a large section of the global population is spending a lot more time indoors compared to before most likely has had an impact on how we are consuming advertisements and other product and brand messaging.

In the United States, the response to the coronavirus has varied from state to state. Over the last 6 months, most stores and shops have opened up for businesses but subjected to change based on the situation, as explained in this report. At the same time, the pandemic has also had an impact on how people shop.

The words “job loss” have been used quite frequently with the word pandemic in 2020. The pandemic has also dramatically changed the way people work. Telecommuting has become the new normal and it is likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. In this scenario, we conducted an online study in the US, and other parts of the world, to learn how the pandemic and the accompanying lockdown have affected the work-life of white-collar working professionals. The results of the study give us a good idea about the current state of work-life compared to the rest of the world.

With the lock down extension, there is a natural need for South Africans to feel secure about ongoing essential goods and services. BMi Research conducted a survey using an online panel from Borderless Access* to ascertain current perceptions on essential goods. 509 people were interviewed nationally from 12-13 April 2020.

Photo: 1905 Hedag Electric Brougham from the heydays of electric vehicles