LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD MOVEMENT:

Transcription

1 LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD MOVEMENT: 1

2 SURVEY RESPONDENTS 2741 CONSUMERS You. A colleague. The people at the table next to you. Anyone who eats food, really. 320 OPERATORS People providing food in a variety of environments: All types of restaurants, schools and universities, healthcare, lodging and corporate dining. 2 People want to know more about locally sourced. Clients are curious. Agency friends are asking. Heck, there s a lot more we d like to know about this trend, too. That s why we commissioned Datassential, a nationally known research firm focused on the food system, to help us out with a research project. We decided to seek out from consumers and restaurant/foodservice operators what they thought about the locally sourced trend. Specifically, they completed a survey that gauged opinions the positives and the negatives on topics including local sourcing, brands, convenience, availability and cost. On a deeper level, we want to fundamentally understand how people behave, why they behave that way and what influences that behavior. So we jumped into our research. And this is what we found:

3 27% consumers 27% of consumers said a national brand can be considered locally sourced because sales help the local economy. Both FARM 10.4% and LOCAL identifications have experienced growth over the past five years on commercial restaurant menus % 11.8% 10.9% 10.3% Farm 6.5% 7.0% 5.1% 5.3% 4.6% Local To see what else we found, turn the page. 3

4 NATIONAL CAN BE LOCAL The food landscape is full of national brands and chains of restaurants. And we all know that food is grown, raised or produced in a particular location. So how do those two facts come together and where? We asked our participants 4

5 WHEN CAN A NATIONAL BRAND BE CONSIDERED LOCALLY SOURCED? 45% 58% local sources are used for ingredients/products 63% 55% depends on where its growers/ producers are located local sales help the local economy national can never be considered local 19% 27% 17% 21% consumers operators 5

6 MATTERS The difference in opinion between youth and experience can be substantial. Since age frequently factors into perceptions, we wanted to know 6

7 Younger consumers expect locally produced items to come from sources close to home (five to 15 miles) while older consumers are more flexible on the distance. local economy small farms health wallet Older consumers find locally sourced supports their values such as supporting the local economy and buying from small farms. Younger consumers are concerned about issues that affect their health (natural and organic), wallet (expensive) and time (hard to find.) time WHAT DO OLDER AND YOUNGER CONSUMERS THINK ABOUT THE IDEA OF LOCALLY SOURCED? 34% more likely Colleges and universities are more likely than other operators to include locally sourced items on menus. 7

8 SAFETY FIRST Where food comes from is one thing, but if its safety is questionable to begin with, does the origin really matter? We had to ask FPO 8

9 39% food safety IS FOOD SAFETY OR LOCALLY SOURCED FOOD MORE IMPORTANT TO CONSUMERS AND OPERATORS? 2% locally sourced Locally doesn t always mean FDA-approved. Do not know if fresh vegetables have been handled to prevent e. coli. Many operators said past experiences make them fearful of trying locally sourced again. High level of food-borne illness bacteria. CONSUMERS 41% food safety 75% operators 1% locally sourced OPERATORS 75 percent of operators said there were items they would not purchase from local sources because of safety concerns: in particular, fish, poultry and eggs. 9

10 the opportunity GAP When they go out to eat, consumers might like to order a menu item that s locally sourced. This gives operators an opportunity to deliver a desired experience to their guests. So we wondered 10

11 ARE OPERATORS OFFERING WHAT CONSUMERS ARE INTERESTED IN? 13% not very likely 49% somewhat likely 5% not at all likely HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO ORDER SOMETHING IDENTIFIED AS LOCALLY SOURCED? 7% extremely likely 26% likely 82% of consumers are at least somewhat likely to order something on the menu if identified as locally sourced. 58% of operators do not offer locally sourced or farm-identified items. DO YOU CURRENTLY IDENTIFY ANY MENU ITEMS AS LOCALLY SOURCED OR FROM A SPECIFIC FARM/FARM BRAND? 20% local or locally sourced 7% farm/farm brands 16% both 58% NEITHER 11

12 Eager yet RELUCTANT As much as consumers and operators value locally sourced foods, both groups acknowledge significant hurdles to purchasing and offering local items: issues with availability such as short growing seasons that limit stocks of fresh produce; price; quality concerns. Consumers value locally sourced, but they also enjoy the convenience of modern food shopping. When locally sourced items are not available, requiring visits to more than one specialty store or farmers market or substituting a different item, consumers complain. Moreover, some items that have become a staple for consumers like bananas and fresh tomatoes year round at times can be impossible for operators to source locally. Consumers and operators will have to find a balance between a desire to focus on local sourcing and their reluctance to substitute or change purchasing habits. 12

13 13

14 Cheaper and healthier, food is better if ripened on the vine instead of in transit Consumer Great way to promote local businesses and help out the community. Ingredients are more fresh and better to cook. Operator Food products are fresher; they are not sitting in a delivery truck or at the store for a long period of time. Consumer chatter than adoption Availability and regulations which prevent local food producers from marketing their goods. Operator The lack of experience in transport, storage and delivery of product. Operator 14

15 There is a direct relationship between the product, the farmers and me. Consumer I like the quality of vegetables that are normally produced in the area. The benefit is taste. A local natural tomato is not even in the same species as a greenhouse tomato. Operator There s lots of talk about the locally sourced trend and the ideals it s founded upon. But true adoption is limited. Practical considerations have gotten in the way: affordability, inconsistent supply and quality. And it s clear that any major food safety issues tied to locally sourced will strike a major blow to the trend. Still, there are plenty of interesting opportunities with locally sourced food, particularly for national brands as well as Quick Service Restaurants and midscale restaurants. It s a trend that bears watching. Understanding and acknowledging consumers is vital to our work for clients representing farm to table and everything in between. Can be expensive and not have a large selection. Consumer Product supply is inconsistent so you have to do a bit of scrambling when it comes time for menu planning. Operator Less resources for sanitary reasons. They don t have someone always looking over their shoulder Consumer 15

16 First in a series of research studies dedicated to advancing our knowledge on the issues and trends most important to our agriculture and food system clients. Information is invaluable. Datassential is a leading source of insights for the food community. Combining operator and consumer research with a variety of tracking, analytic and database resources, Datassential gathers the information that food manufacturers, food service operators, and trade associations rely on. Some of the tools used to deliver accurate and relevant data include Datassential MenuTrends, MenuTrends INSIDER, Firefly and Optimize. The research, conducted by Datassential in January 2013, included 2,741 consumer respondents from all U.S. regions and demographic types. The 320 operator respondents represented both commercial and non-commercial backgrounds. 515 W. NORTH SHORE DRIVE, HARTLAND, WI p: