Increasing Demand for Locally produced

The IGD has published ‘Shopper Trends – 5 years on’ which is a ‘definitive’ guide to shopper attitudes. The report found that shoppers are increasingly faced with trade-offs. Price, while still important, is balanced against a number of other factors which constitute value for the shopper. These include the quality of the ingredients, the health benefits and the social and environmental impact of production. How consumers react when faced with difficult trade-offs depends on what is most important to them, which in turn varies by category, product and occasion. There is growing demand for products that are healthy and that display ethical and environmental credentials. Within these trends, provenance is increasingly important at a retail and foodservice level.

• One fifth of shoppers (21%) said that knowing which country the product has come from is an important consideration in choosing products (15% in 2003)
• Over one quarter (27%) of shoppers indicated that they would try new products if they were promoted as being locally produced.
• One quarter (25%) said that they had specifically bought products in the last month that had been produced in the area where they live (15% in 2003).

In addition to promoting local or British products as an assurance of quality or safety, sourcing is increasingly used to demonstrate a company’s commitment to the environment. 16% of shoppers in 2008 compared to 9% in 2003 indicated that the distance the food has travelled is a production concern for them.

According to the latest research from Mintel, consumers are demanding more information from food labels in response to rising interest in issues of health, environment and ethical concerns. However, at the same time there is environmental awareness regarding excessive packaging, which means that the space available for information is likely to get smaller. There may be opportunities for consumers to gain more product information via manufacturers websites or from in-store information screens, where labels could be scanned to display the relevant information.

The research also showed that; 55% of adults found the print on food labels too small, 48% felt that packaging is often too cluttered, 28% often can not find what they are looking for and 17% don’t trust the information anyway. Of the older respondents 84% felt the print too small and 62% that labels are cluttered. The UK has an ageing population showing that label presentation will become increasingly important. 84% of respondents now look for a packaging’s recycling credentials, showing that recycling is as important as information on salt, sugar and calorie content.

Online purchases accounted for 15p in every £1 of retail spending during 2007, according to a survey by consultants Capgemini, and the industry body Interactive Media in Retail Group (IMRG). The surge in e-commerce came at the expense of traditional high street stores, as Internet spending soared up 54% year-on-year to a record £46.6bn. For the first time, online purchases by UK shoppers eclipsed the turnover of Tesco. The figure is expected to rise to at least one pound in five over the course of 2008.

British shoppers’ interest in Fairtrade has more than doubled in the past five years, with nearly a quarter of shoppers now saying they have recently bought Fairtrade products, up from 11% in 2003. IGD predicts growth in annual Fairtrade spending will average 11% over the next five years to total £585m by 2012. Sales of Fairtrade products in the UK jumped 81% to £493m last year, according to new figures released by the Fairtrade Foundation.

UK consumers are increasingly buying food and drink products for their ethical credentials, the Checkout Nielsen Top 100 Grocery Brands report reveals. The study from grocery website, Talking Retail, compiled in partnership with global market research company, Nielsen, shows the fastest growing and biggest brands in 2007 are those that are kinder to the environment or are putting environmental concerns at the heart of their brand strategy. Innocent is the fastest growing brand overall with sales up 45.6% to £141.2m, with initiatives including 100% recycled bottles and greener electricity. Walkers Crisps, the third biggest brand is the first company to declare its carbon footprint on the pack.

Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G), which inspects and licenses thousands of organic farms and food manufacturers across the UK, has become the first organic certifier in the UK to offer a bag made from cornstarch which breaks down completely in compost. OF&G has taken delivery of an initial order of 10,000 bags which will be offered to its licensees but also to any retailer who wishes to play their part in reducing the impact of traditional plastic bags. The bags, produced by Ecosac, of Tern Hill, Shropshire, are made from non-GM cornstarch. They can be used a number of times before they begin to break down in natural conditions, or degrade fully in compost within 35-45 days. Once broken down the bags return to the simple elements of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen.