AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER PROFILES RESEARCH

Transcription

1 July 2014 AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER PROFILES RESEARCH EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2 CONTENTS GETTING INSIDE THE MINDS OF AUSTRALIAN MACADAMIA CONSUMERS 3 THE OBJECTIVES 4 THE METHODOLOGY 4 KEY FINDINGS #1 A HEALTHY ATTITUDE 5 #2 THE SNACKING DILEMMA 5 #3 THE NUT HALO 6 #4 A UNIQUE SENSORY EXPERIENCE 6 #5 UNIQUE ASSOCIATIONS 7 #6 THE MACADAMIA MOMENT 7 #7 DAILY LUXURY 7 #8 PACKAGING MATTERS 8 #9 UPSELL WITH MACADAMIAS 8 #10 GENUINE CONSUMER INTEREST 9 #11 A POSITION OF HEALTH 9 2

3 Why macadamias? GETTING INSIDE THE MINDS OF AUSTRALIAN MACADAMIA CONSUMERS WHY MACADAMIAS VS OTHER NUTS? Macadamia nuts are a much-loved part of the Australian food landscape, well known for their unique taste and texture, but also for their premium price. MOTIVATIONS FOR BUYING?? MACADAMIAS PERCEPTION? Six years ago, a major quantitative and qualitative research project was undertaken examining Australian macadamia consumers and since then, Newspoll and tracking studies have added to this knowledge bank. In 2014, the time was right to conduct another major piece of research in order to build on existing knowledge and gain a more in-depth and current understanding of Australian macadamia consumers and the untapped potential their preferences and opinions hold. Furthermore, it was an opportunity to explore and articulate the value that macadamias can add to other products and brands. AUSTRALIAN MACADAMIAS The Australian Macadamia Society commissioned market research consultancy GALKAL to design and implement this landmark consumer profiling research. The findings have filled many knowledge gaps in terms of what interests and motivates a typical macadamia user and provided insights that offer up ripe opportunities for product innovation and marketing. These insights can be applied across a host of product categories, with scope for macadamias to introduce premium cues to lower value products and enhance the premiumness of products already competing in the upper echelons of their categories. The research has not only painted an up-to-date picture of the Australian macadamia consumer, but also provided hard evidence that macadamias are perceived as a highvalue, premium product with potential that reaches far beyond basic snacking. T C U D P R O M P R E M I U high value more than just a snack No other country is as invested in macadamias as Australia. The findings of this research have fuelled the industry s long term objective of building on the macadamia s existing premium status and positioning it as a product that is worth the money and more than just a snack. The Australian Macadamia industry is committed to supporting retailers and food manufacturers in the use and promotion of macadamias. For further details of this research or to discuss your next project, feel free to contact AMS Market Development Manager, Lynne Ziehlke on lynne.ziehlke@macadamias.org 3

4 THE OBJECTIVES To identify why Australian consumers choose macadamias over other nuts To bring to life motivations for buying, eating and using macadamias in order to identify where behaviour is repeatable in other segments To uncover the cultural context around premiumisation and how this context lives in food To identify an overarching future positioning territory that feels unique to macadamias THE METHODOLOGY RESEARCH Conducted during the first quarter of 2014, the research was qualitative and administered via 5-day online forum interviews. Participants were equally split between loyal and light macadamia users. Both groups were aged 25 to 60 and comprised males, females, SINKS, DINKS, families and empty-nesters. 5 -DAY ONLINE FORUM INTERVIEWS INTERVIEWS In addition to this, interviews with premium culture experts were conducted, to unearth insights around consumption of premium products. EXISTING INSIGHTS Existing insights from social media, the 2008 research, Newspoll studies and Homescan also fed into the research findings. PARTICIPANTS LOYAL MACADAMIA USERS LIGHT MACADAMIA USERS BOTH: AGED 25-60, MALES, FEMALES, SINKS, DINKS, FAMILIES AND EMPTY-NESTERS. 4

5 Key Findings 11 key findings were born from this research, each offering up fertile ground for product innovation and new product marketing. #1 A HEALTHY ATTITUDE I m always conscious of my health and the actions I can take to improve my health. I don t think I can be the best friend, girlfriend, daughter, sister, colleague without being healthy. I want to live a long life. Macadamias may add health cues to other products Loyal Australian macadamia consumers are significantly more concerned with health than other consumers. They are not obsessive health or exercise freaks, but ordinary people who believe that putting better foods in their bodies means a better result out. They are invested in eating, cooking and snacking better. EATING COOKING SNACKING BETTER It s not the exterior results of being healthy that matter to them so much as the quality and length of life they believe is gained by taking care of what they put in their bodies. Food is a passion for these people, so cooking plays a big role in their lives. They aren t interested in counting calories. They cook to relax and reward themselves with a wholesome, balanced diet. They utilise their food knowledge daily and talk with vigour of craving avocados, cheese or olives, more so than chips, chocolate or lollies. #2 THE SNACKING DILEMMA Snacking is a love-hate part of the day. People love to snack when bored or in need of a pick-me-up. However whether they feel good or guilty about it is dependent on the relative healthiness of what they consumed. I eat nuts most days, they are a quick and healthy alternative to a lot of sweet and fatty snacks. Both loyal and light macadamia users listed nuts in their top 5 snacks. This underscores the prevalence of the belief that nuts are great for snacking. S N A C K S Snacking helps people get through the day, either as a cure for boredom or as an excuse to get up and stretch at work. At home, snacking between or after meals is emotionally satisfying. Before every snacking occasion, there is a moment of choice between whether to have a good or a bad snack. Nut lovers gain great satisfaction from choosing a healthier snack over an indulgent one, feeling they re smarter and will feel better and less guilty after snacking. Products with a hero nut ingredient may slide further towards the good end of the snacking spectrum in the minds of those consumers seeking guilt-free snacking options 5

6 #3 THE NUT HALO Nuts are perceived as very healthy due to their good fats and this is their primary driver for consumption against a backdrop of mainly bad for you snacks. The halo around nuts extends to their various forms and makes them an automatic choice for feel-good snacking they are considered one of the only guilt-free snack options. The health perception is based on in-depth rather than generic knowledge. While participants acknowledged a few negatives of nuts including high fat content, calories and cost, the positives far outweighed these - nutrient-rich, filling, fuel for the body, convenient / portable and free from sugar, preservatives and guilt! Adding macadamias to a product may enable it to bask in the glory of the nut halo I have read studies showing people who eat nuts have lower blood pressure, less risk of heart disease and typically lower weight than people who don t eat nuts NO DOWNSIDE. When I am out and about in my car on the weekend, I am starving but still have lots of errands to do before heading home having nuts in my handbag is a lifesaver and stops me from eating anything bad! #4 A UNIQUE SENSORY EXPERIENCE It adds texture and flavour, but the main thing I think is texture. I am a sucker for different textures and I think the products that combine something soft with something hard and crunchy like nuts is a real WINNER Macadamias are perceived as a high quality nut, by both heavy and light users. Their flavour profile is consistently described with language such as: RICH, SMOOTH, CREAMY, BUTTERY, SOFT CRUNCH and CRUMBLY. The flavour is regarded as unique in terms of both taste and texture, and they re considered to be the most rich and decadent nut. Nut users love the crunch, texture, flavour and health benefits that adding nuts to other items delivers. This uniqueness offers huge potential for product differentiation - no other food can offer the same sensory experience as a macadamia 6

7 #5 UNIQUE ASSOCIATIONS I don t think macadamias are your common old garden variety of nuts. But rather a nut that is a little bit more unusual and used more sparingly. In addition to offering a unique sensory experience, macadamias evoke three unique themes among consumers: NIBBLE MORE SPECIAL TREAT these are nuts to be savoured, not guzzled by the handful macadamias are considered to be more than just an everyday nut macadamias are a tasty and indulgent experience There is great scope to leverage these themes via new product development and marketing #6 THE MACADAMIA MOMENT Consumers can describe, in great detail, their ideal macadamia moment. It centres on indulgence, intimacy, luxury. The moments are lengthier and more fulfilling than an average snack occasion, or an average nut occasion. There is potential to tap into these evocative moments via new product development and marketing Maybe taking the trip of a lifetime on the Ghan sipping a fine Australian sparkling Pinot, nibbling some lovely salted, roasted macadamias... #7 DAILY LUXURY Consumers become energised and excited when thinking about premium items. Their everyday treats for themselves are very often food-related. It seems that in lieu of being able to afford a BMW, consumers get a taste of the luxurious life through their daily food choices. Macadamias occupy this space perfectly. Knowing that macadamias are perceived as more special and treatlike, this is very rich territory for NPD and marketing 7

8 #8 PACKAGING MATTERS... I d like to see the nuts in the packaging. The brands that have pictures of what s inside, rather than just showing us makes me feel like they re trying to hide something While consumers feel no strong affinity with particular brands of macadamias, they do have an opinion on packaging. They feel that daily snacking packaging should be functional and transparent to enable freshness to be seen. A lack of transparency is actually a purchase barrier for some people. Jars and zip lock bags are favourite formats. Respondents felt more premium product packaging should look gourmet and appropriate for gift-giving or self-indulgence. Boxed formats are popular, with clean layouts and natural colour palettes including white, gold and black. FAVOURITE FORMATS Packaging formats for products that include macadamias can be designed to specifically cue freshness or premiumness PREFERRED COLOURS #9 UPSELL WITH MACADAMIAS Macadamias comfortably own a position in the premium space. There is no doubt consumers perceive them as a highly premium product. They demand a higher price point, by up to 10%, and if added to other food products, can add premiumness and quality. I think macadamias raise the perception of the quality of the product based on the fact that they are more expensive... Maybe about 10%. There is a large upside for manufacturers considering the use of macadamias. They can add quality perceptions and premiumness to other products 8

9 #10 GENUINE CONSUMER INTEREST Adding macadamias to food is a GREAT IDEA and adds QUALITY. You can t say that with all of the other nuts Both heavy and light macadamia consumers are open and interested in future innovation with macadamias. There is genuine interest in new uses and applications, highlighting a perceived gap between the ways macadamias could be used and the ways they are used now. Although baked goods are top of mind, there is interest sparked around other categories, with few limits on the ideas consumers will entertain. There is a strong consumer desire for new products with macadamias in them, adding an element of luxury as well as an element of health and wholesomeness. Pretty much any cake or biscuit, ice cream, maybe a macadamia pesto instead of pine nuts, maybe those cheese logs they could all be made better quality with macadamias Macadamias offer something which is above the average, and provides either the unexpected or something a little bit extra and associated with luxury premium. There is an innovation sweet spot an active desire for newer and different macadamia products, even though this is currently unfamiliar territory #11 A POSITION OF HEALTH H E A L T H B E N E F I T S BETTER SNACK CHOICE Health was revealed as the strongest reason-to-believe. People seek out this reassurance when trying to make a healthier snacking choice - even when they re being more indulgent (eg: chocolate-covered macadamias). Factual health benefits grabbed consumers attention and provided a pleasant surprise in some instances. Health facts are a key driver for consumption and should underpin any marketing campaign promoting macadamias as an ingredient, even if health is not the core message We should think more often about including them in our diet... the macadamia is indeed an honest food that has the right nutrients (protein, omega 7 and good fats) 9

10 FOR FURTHER DETAILS OF THIS RESEARCH OR TO DISCUSS YOUR NEXT PROJECT, FEEL FREE TO CONTACT: AMS Market Development Manager, Lynne Ziehlke on