Brown Bag Lunches Grow In Popularity: NPD

The NPD Group reports a rise in the number of people carrying their weekday lunch from home because of financial concerns, as well as a desire to improve health and nutrition. Other reasons include convenience, taste, diet, quality, and environmental concerns.

Growth in brown-bag lunches increased from 35 bagged lunches per capita in 2006 to 38 in 2007. Although adult males carry brown bag lunches most frequently, most of the growth has been driven by adult females. White collar professionals in the mid- to high-income range are the most interested in bringing a lunch from home.

Among consumers who purchase their lunch from restaurants, almost half say they are visiting less often. On the other hand, the most frequent brown-baggers bring their lunch to work an average of three times per week.