Survey Finds Women Turn to Caffeinated Drinks and Chocolate When They Need a Boost...and Seek Nutrients When They Indulge

24/10/07 With the cold, hectic months of the year almost upon us, a new survey from Swiss Miss, America's number one brand of cocoa, shows that when women need a daily boost, most look to chocolate, caffeine and fortified foods. In fact, nearly three out of four women surveyed crave chocolate more than any other sweet and consume caffeine at least once per day, while the majority seeks fortified foods to enhance diets lacking in important vitamins and minerals.

Swiss Miss conducted the survey to better understand how women get themselves going each day as they face their busy lives, which can become particularly demanding when the expectations and responsibilities of the fall and winter "holiday" season heat up. It's the perfect time of year for "warm me up" drinks like the perennial favorite, hot cocoa -- in fact, the survey revealed that most women associate hot cocoa with cold weather and wintertime (93 percent).

But now, that soothing treat can do more than just warm your spirit. To satisfy the need for something rich and creamy, while giving women more of what they want, when they need it -- like a nutritional boost and a little something for the afternoon lull -- Swiss Miss has created two new hot cocoas with the same great taste they love and the fortified ingredients they need:
-- Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up Cocoa swirls smooth and creamy chocolate taste with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, plus as much calcium and vitamin D as a glass of milk.
-- Swiss Miss Great Start Cocoa begins with smooth and creamy imported cocoa, and then adds 15 essential vitamins and minerals, including Vitamin D and as much calcium as in an eight-ounce cup of milk.
-- The good news for women looking for low-calorie indulgences is that both new cocoas from Swiss Miss have only 110 calories and two grams of fat per serving; much less than other chocolate or mocha treats.

All Swiss Miss cocoa products are made with care at a dairy, where fresh milk is delivered daily, dried and blended with premium, imported cocoas, making it a wholesome source of natural antioxidants that are important for a women's diet.

"The survey revealed that caffeinated drinks are important to the lifestyle of many women, and that vitamin and mineral enrichments are also of importance to this demographic," said Sergio Pereira, vice president Swiss Miss marketing. "The new Swiss Miss Pick-Me-Up Cocoa and Great Start Cocoa varieties give women the chocolate they crave in a sweet, rich, lower-calorie drink but with an added boost -- either as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, or 15 essential vitamins and minerals."

The survey of 500 women ages 25-44 provided insights into women's caffeine consumption habits, nutritional needs and sweet cravings.

Jolting Results

For most women 25-44, caffeine is a must:
-- Almost seven in 10 (69 percent) of women 25-44 consume caffeine at least once a day
-- 40 percent of women consume caffeine more than once a day.
-- Almost all women (95 percent) consume caffeine at least occasionally.
-- 37 percent of women look to caffeine for those mid-morning and mid-afternoon lulls in between meals when they need a pick me up.
-- Most women have caffeine before lunch -- 41 percent when first awakening, another 20 percent mid-morning.
-- Women want their caffeinated beverages to be low-cal and sweet. 70 percent say the ideal caffeinated product has to be low in calories and the majority (56 percent) want it to be sweet.

Functional Foods

The trend of functional foods is going strong, apparent in the responses from the survey:
-- More than half (54 percent) of women 25-44 say they don't get enough vitamins and minerals from the foods they eat.
-- Women look to fortified foods to get the essential nutrients their diets lack (51 percent).
-- More than a third (35 percent) said they would like to get their essential nutrients from "indulgent" foods.

Sweet Cravings

Women crave chocolate:
-- Chocolate is the sweet that women crave most (68 percent); more than ice cream (48 percent), followed by cookies (40 percent), candy (33 percent) and cake (31 percent).
-- Moods affect women's cravings for chocolate. 67 percent of respondents said stress drives cravings, followed by "experiencing PMS" (59 percent) and "need a pick-me-up" (58 percent).