What are the all-time favorite food items? Junk-food fanatics have their own universe to choose from like popcorn, taffy, chocolate and hundreds more. But this question pertains to "real" food, not snacks, drinks or oddities. The food market is one of the most surveyed and studies of any consumer niche, so there's plenty of data on who eats what, how much of it they eat, when they consume it and why. Most people are surprised when they learn about the top five food items, ranked by popularity. It's not all comfort food and some of the things on the "all-time favorites" list defy logical explanation. Here's what people eat most often, based on national sales data of general food categories and products:
Bread
Bread tops the list of biggest sellers across all types of stores and for good reason. It's one of the oldest staple foods of the human race that does not come directly from a tree, animal or plant. With so many options to choose between white, wheat, through jalapeño cheese, you can use for sandwiches, or even toast with jelly.
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Speaking of jelly, this staple of young people's diets is making a big comeback of late. Baby boomers who fondly remember the days of PB&J snacks in front of the TV while watching cartoons are reliving their childhood days by purchasing the two key ingredients. They already have the bread! The PB&J sandwich is a meal in itself, some say, because of its carbohydrates, sugar, protein and other necessary building blocks of a healthy diet.
Cheese/Milk/Eggs
When is the last time you made a grocery list that did not contain one of these items? If you said, "Never," you're like millions of others who regularly buy and consume these most popular dairy products. Even the vegan versions of common dairy items are a huge hit. Miyoko's is one of the many companies that caters to vegan taste buds and wins over plenty of omnivores as well. Why do real and vegan dairy products sell so well? It's not just the taste, though that's a big part of the equation. It's also about nutrition. Dairy, and high-quality dairy-free cheeses, butters and eggs are packed with protein and other essential vitamins that healthy people need.
Frozen Dinners
Sadly, or maybe not so sadly, frozen dinners are the fourth-ranked of the top five biggest selling grocery items. The good news is that manufacturers have made great strides in the area of taste. These concoctions were once routinely criticized for tasting awful and being a last-resort of the truly desperate. Not anymore. Some of the higher-end frozen dinners on the market rival gourmet dinners you might cook for yourself. The difference is that the frozen version does not require hard work or knowledge.
Cereal
Good old cereal is number five on the list of biggest selling grocery items because just about everyone consumes, both young and old. Take a close look at the cereal aisle in the grocery store next time your go and you'll notice something odd: cereal is one of the only foods that has an entire aisle all to itself.
