TRENDS IN FOOD CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Klaus G. Grunert MAPP Centre, Aarhus University
WHAT IS A TREND? Primary production Primary processing Secondary processing Retailing Consumer Changes in political, economic, social and technological factors
FOUR TRENDS RESPONSIBILITY BUNDLING AUTHENTICITY FRAGMENTATION
RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY: WHAT IT IS Actors at all levels of the food chain from farm to fork are increasingly called upon to take responsibility for their actions and the consequences of these actions for themselves and for others RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY: WHAT IT IS Health Sustainability RESPONSIBILITY
INDICATORS AND EXAMPLES The growing number of products launched with a health positioning The growing number of food products positioned by environmental and ethical claims The prominent role of nutrition information, health claims and eco-labels Major retailers and food producers try to position themselves as being responsible The publication of numerous books, articles and movies criticising the current food regime and consumption practices RESPONSIBILITY
FOOD AND HEALTH: THE COMPLEX CHOICE On the one hand, there is an increasing awareness of the link between food and health among consumers On the other hand, this insight does not always translate into actions RESPONSIBILITY
DISCOURSES ON FOOD AND HEALTH Experientialism Culinary order Indulgent Ordinary Idealism Pragmatism Controlled Resigned Principles Functionalism Nutritional order Compromises Chrysochou, P., Askegaard, S., Grunert, K. G., & Kristensen, D. B. (2010). Social discourses of healthy eating: A market segmentation approach. Appetite, RESPONSIBILITY 55(2), 288-297.
RESPONSIBILITY
Factors Levels Functional claim Calcium Calcium + health benefit Vitamins Vitamins + health benefit Omega 3 Omega 3 + health benefit None Process claim Organic Locally produced Natural None Health prime Exercise Well-being Diet Neutral RESPONSIBILITY
THE EFFECT OF COMMUNICATION ELEMENTS ON PERCEIVED HEALTHINESS Chrysochou, P., & Grunert, K. G. (2014). Health-related ad information and health motivation effects on product evaluations. Journal of Business Research, 67, 1209-1217. RESPONSIBILITY
THE PERCEPTION OF HEALTH CLAIMS ON ENRICHED FOODS Attractive Healthy Natural Tasty How is the health benefit communicated? 0,2 0 Is the health benefit relevant? -0,2 Bread Is the benefit understood and credible? Which inferences do consumers make with regard to taste, naturalness, overall healthiness, overall attractiveness? -0,4-0,6-0,8-1 -1,2 p < 0.001 p < 0.001 p < 0.001 Yoghurt Pork -1,4 p < 0.001 Lähteenmäki, L., et al. (2010). Impact of health-related claims on the perception of other product attributes. Food Policy, 35, 230-239. RESPONSIBILITY
MOTIVATION AND ABILITY TO PROCESS HEALTH CLAIMS AND SYMBOLS Hoefkens, C. etl al. (2015). Motivation outweighs ability in explaining European consumers' use of health claims. 12 th European Nutrition Conference, FENS 2015, Berlin.
NUTRITION LABELLING A 9 21 420 32 21 B RESPONSIBILITY
Change in sales after Introduction of label Change in sales after Introduction of label CHANGE IN SALES 4 WEEKS BEFORE/AFTER INTRODUCTION OF NUTRITION LABEL 200 Ready meals 3 2 Sandwiches 150 100 50 1 0-1 -2-3 rank 4 rank 5 rank 6 rank 7 rank 8 rank 9 rank 10 rank 11 0-50 rank 1 rank 2 rank 3 rank 4 rank 5 rank 6 Health score -4-5 -6 Health score Based on Sacks et al. (2009). Impact of front-of-pack traffic-light nutrition labelling on consumer food purchases in the UK. Health Promotion International, 24, 325-344. RESPONSIBILITY
1.39% increase in share of products having 1-3 stars over a two year period Sutherland, L.A., Kaley, L.A. & Fischer, L.(2010). Guding stars: the effect of a nutrition navigation program on consumer purchases at the supermarket. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 91, 1090S-1094S. RESPONSIBILITY
FOOD AND HEALTH: THE COMPLEX CHOICE On the one hand, there is an increasing awareness of the link between food and health among consumers Consumers handle this awareness in different ways On the other hand, this insight does not always translate into actions Perceived health and objective health is not the same Trade-offs between health and other factors The good intentions get lost in the daily habits Functional foods remain a niche market RESPONSIBILITY
FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY: THE UPCOMING ISSUE Sustainability is on its way to prominence on the public agenda in the same way as health However, sustainability is a complex concept, and the consequences are not at the individual level RESPONSIBILITY
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM SUSTAINABILITY? Yes No Sweden 94% France 88% UK 86% Germany 83% Spain 71% Poland 50% 50% 6% 12% 14% 17% 29% Grunert, K. G., Hieke, S., & Wills, J. (2014). Sustainability labels on food products: Consumer motivation, understanding and use. Food Policy, 44, 177-189. 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% RESPONSIBILITY
UK: Preserving/maintaining resources and supplies Keeping the balance of nature, maintain stability, regrow, replace what is used 29% each (n=151/149) FRANCE: Environmentally/ecologically friendly (in general) SWEDEN: Sell-by-date of a product/length of time a product lasts 43% (n=330) 68% (n=509) GERMANY: Keeping the balance of nature, maintain stability, regrow, replace what is used SPAIN: Environmentally/ecologically friendly (in general) 32% (n=207) 31% (n=150) POLAND: Maintain standard of living/economic output/growth Being responsible/sensible/only use what s needed 37%/38% (n=124/129)
ARE CONSUMERS CONCERNED ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY? DATA FROM FRANCE, GERMANY, POLAND, SPAIN, SWEDEN, UK Child labour Deforestation Starvation and malnutrition Animal welfare Use of pesticides Environmental damage by use of land and water Food waste Too much resources for food production Poor working conditions Recycable packaging Amount of packaging Carbon emissions Energy in transportation Energy used when cooking 5,6 5,5 5,4 5,4 5,4 5,4 5,3 5,1 5,1 5,0 4,9 4,8 4,6 4,5 Environmental Ethical 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 7,0
Influence on decision-making WHICH PRODUCT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF INFORMATION ON CHOICE OF READY MEALS 4,0 3,0 2,0 Environmental label Ethical label Nutrition Price 1,0,0-1,0-2,0 Carbon footprint logo Rainforest Alliance logo No logo Fair trade label Animal welfare label No label Low calorie Medium calorie High calorie 10% cheaper than normal Normal price 10% more expensive than normal -3,0-4,0-5,0 kcal
FOOD AND SUSTAINABILITY: THE UPCOMING ISSUE Sustainability is on its way to prominence on the public agenda in the same way as health Also here there will be pressure on the sector to be innovative However, sustainability is a complex concept, and the consequences are not for the individual Most consumers will be followers, not lead users RESPONSIBILITY
RESPONSIBILITY - DRIVERS AND BARRIERS Public agenda setting and stakeholder concern is the main driver Habitual consumer behaviour and lack of correspondence between attitude and behaviour is a main barrier RESPONSIBILITY
AUTHENTICITY
AUTHENTICITY: WHAT IT IS Food that is perceived as truthful, honest, sincere, unmediated and unalienated Food that is natural, traditional and local AUTHENTICITY 27
AUTHENTICITY: WHAT IT IS Technophobia Local and traditional food AUTHENTICITY
GOOD AND BAD TECHNOLOGIES Good: Technologies that are viewed as authentic, responsible, familiar, transparent, artisanal Bad: Technologies that are industrial, hi-tech, complex, unknown, scary Genetic modification and food irradiation are the iconic examples Many emerging technologies (electromagnetic processes, mild processing, texturizing methods) are, at the outset, neither good nor bad AUTHENTICITY
ALSO NEW TECHNOLOGY CAN BE MORE OR LESS ATTRACTIVE I can relate to this thing about pressure, but electric impulses that is just too strange I just cannot imagine this high voltage. I m afraid of it. It sounds bad. Electricity is not for me My opinion is that this process (PEF) is not natural at all. That s why I don t like it at all compared to the other one (HPP), which seems to be more natural. It reminds me of the pressure cooker my parents had at home Nielsen, H. B., et al. Consumer perception of the use of high-pressure processing and pulsed electric field technologies in food production. Appetite, 2009, 52(1), 115-126.
How important do you think the following elements are for indicating the healthiness of a product? Health logo Endorsed by a professional health group Contains low levels of bad nutrients Organic Non genetically modified No preservatives, artificial Low in calories Fresh (not processed) Contains good nutrients Total Hungary Poland France Sweden UK 3 3,5 4 4,5 5
PROCESSING AND HEALTH PROPERTIES Low degree of processing, organic production, may lead to inferences about healthfulness Higher degrees of processing may lead to additional health properties, but can lead to tradeoffs in the mind of the consumer AUTHENTICITY
TRADE-OFFS BETWEEN PROCESSING AND HEALTH EFFECTS (RUFFIEUX & SALAIS, 2013) 11 products, presented without packaging and sold as 250g units: 1 standard butter (reference product on the market) 4 products resulting from agricultural-level modifications 2 natural products (PDO, GRASS) 3 innovative products (LINS, LINO, FISH) 5 products resulting from industrial-level modifications 1 low-fat product (LOFA) 3 blends involving vegetable ingredients (MARG, MPVO, BVO) 1 product involving animal ingredients (FISH) AUTHENTICITY
1,8 Consumer willingess to pay after processing and after nutrition information (Ruffieux & Salaire, 2013) Fig 3 - Evolution of WTP between phases 1 and 2 1,6 1,4 *** 1,2 *** 1 0,8 *** *** * * *** *** *** *** 0,6 ** 0,4 0,2 0 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 STD Butter PDO Butter GRASS Butter LINS Butter LINO Butter FISH Butter LOFAT Butter VEG Margarine BVO Blend FISH Blend MPVO Blend
TASTE STILL MATTERS Several studies have shown that attitudes even to very controversial technologies like GM become more positive when consumers can link the use of the technology to a superior taste The opposite holds as well AUTHENTICITY
IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES Does the new processing technology lead to consumer benefits in terms of health and quality? Is the technology communicable? Can the technology be framed in such a way that it will be perceived as transparent, trustworthy and authentic? AUTHENTICITY
LOCAL AND TRADITIONAL FOOD For big industrial producers the authenticity trend is a challenge, but for many small producers it is an opportunity There is an increasing number of foods marketed as traditional, local, original Popularity of alternative channels of distribution Authenticity is too a large extent a question of communication and opens new possibilities for storytelling AUTHENTICITY
0,3 0,28 0,26 0,24 0,22 0,2 0,18 0,16 0,14 0,12 0,1 With storytelling negative positive Fenger, M. H., Aschemann-Witzel, J., Hansen, F., & Grunert, K. G. (2014). Delicious words - assessing the impact of short storytelling messages on consumer preferences for variations of a new processed meat product. Food Quality and Preference, 41, 237-244. 0,3 0,28 0,26 0,24 0,22 0,2 0,18 0,16 0,14 0,12 0,1 Berrymeat ham Berrymeat ham, low on salt Berrymeat Regular ham ham, without nitrite Without storytelling Regular ham, low on salt negative positive
WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS AND BARRIERS? A rising importance of intangible qualities and concern about the way food is produced is a main driver The need to communicate authenticity in a credible way is a main barrier The reluctance to rethink large scale industrial food production in terms of consumer perception is another main barrier AUTHENTICITY
BUNDLING
BUNDLING: WHAT IT IS Bundling of different food products with service elements to provide meal solutions for different situations and different consumer segments Food products may represent all levels in the value chain, i.e., from raw to processed foods Bundling is more than just convenience - it involves different ways of combining products and services, and different levels of readiness of meals, meeting a variety of demands BUNDLING
BUNDLING
INDICATORS AND EXAMPLES High quality ready made meals for home consumption Supermarket supply of recipes combined with bundling of food products to make easy family meals Internet-based subscription deals with regularly delivery to private homes of food products from raw foods to semi or finished meals Canteen take-away solutions BUNDLING
WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS AND BARRIERS? Many consumers are very busy but at the same time demand tasty, varied and high quality meal solutions Also, many consumers are aware of health-related and sustainability-related issues with regard to food but find it difficult or time consuming to meat these requirements Cooking skills may be deteriorating Consumers are getting more used to use internet and subscription services Problems with logistics, freshness, quality, finding the correct level of degrees of freedom BUNDLING
FRAGMENTATION
FRAGMENTATION: WHAT IT IS Consumer demands have become more diversified both across consumers and across situations Traditionally, the supply chain handles this at the level of secondary processing, whereas the other actors do not engage in differentation of their offerings But increasingly, consumer demands can only be satisfied if all actors in the supply chain, in concertation, engage in differentiation of their offerings This leads to fragmentation of primary production, processing, and distribution of food FRAGMENTATION
FRAGMENTATION
INDICATORS AND EXAMPLES More differentiation in primary production based on breeding, feeding and production system parameters Proliferation of small producers with niche products, often coupled with alternative distribution systems New forms of food distribution, e.g. by online selling FRAGMENTATION
WHAT ARE THE DRIVERS AND BARRIERS? Fragmentation of consumer demands in ways that can no longer by dealt with by traditional product differentiation at the level of secondary processing Advances in biotechnology that open up for new possibilities of customization at the level of primary production Advances in IT technology that enable new forms of food distribution Advances in methodologies for obtaining consumer insight, such that consumer demands can be recognized and transformed into differentiated offerings Changing forms of value chain governance FRAGMENTATION
THE FOUR TRENDS COME TOGETHER Food products become more information intensive, branding and storytelling become more important No neo-romanticism in food, but a need to establish a better link between artisanal traditions and large-scale industrial production and processing A need for better links between technology and consumer insight A need for new and better forms of cooperation in the value chain
Thank you for your attention!