Foie gras is one of Hungarians’ favorite luxury foods

McDonald’s in Hungary surveyed Hungarians’ opinions and consumption habits regarding luxury foods in a national, representative survey[1]. This revealed that there is relatively high agreement when it comes to choosing ingredients that are considered luxury: caviar (mentioned by 80% of respondents), truffles (76%) and foie gras (60%) won the comparison. Of these, truffles are considered the least accessible ingredient in terms of price and ease of purchase, with nine out of ten respondents either unable to afford it or not knowing where to get it. Foie gras is theoretically affordable for 37% of respondents, but far fewer (26%) find it affordable, while it is the most popular food item among the top 3 (43%).

Four out of ten Hungarian consumers do not spend at all on food they consider to be a luxury item. Interestingly, men are more indulgent towards themselves and consume more, while women are stricter when shopping and eating: 46% of the latter do not spend on luxury food, compared to 39% of men.

People living in cities are also more likely to spend than those living in rural areas, but this picture is colored by the fact that Budapest residents classify foods such as sourdough bread or oyster mushrooms as luxury items to a higher extent than the national average.

When asked which of the expensive foods they eat at least once or twice a year, half of the respondents mentioned duck leg. Among the products specifically classified as luxury foods, foie gras was also mentioned most often (24%), compared to caviar (11%) and truffles (10%).