• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 14, 2013

A new survey, conducted this month by The Hartman Group among its opt-in HartmanSalt.com consumer panel/community members, finds that 45% of respondents visit food- and beverage-related Web sites during the course of a week.

While 10% of respondents report never visiting food/beverage sites, 17% say they visit such sites daily (once or more often), and 17% say they visit them once or twice each month.

Among those who do visit such sites, 30% report that their primary reason is looking for recipes.

Nearly one-quarter (23%) say their primary reason for visiting food-related sites is looking for nutritional information; 17% say the main driver is to watch videos about food preparation and cooking; and 13% say the main driver is to obtain coupons or specials from manufacturers or retailers.

While this particular survey of HartmanSalt.com members, conducted via the Internet  and mobile phones, is not statistically representative of U.S. consumers as a whole, Hartman reports that the results are consistent with the results of its surveys that are statistically representative of U.S. consumers.