Brown Bagging It Becomes Fashionable

Noting a shift in consumer behavior, food giants like Kraft and ConAgra are targeting new launches at lunches.

Brown bagging is at an all-time high since 2001, per the NPD Group, Port Washington, New York. Adults ages 18-and-older consumed some 8.5 billion brown-bag lunches last year (38 bagged lunches per capita compared to 35 in 2006).

Nearly 12% of lunchtime opportunities were brought from home as of the year ended February 2008. In contrast, the February