How Can Independent Labelling Enhance Trust in Brands? Learnings from the MSC and the seafood sector GlobeScan Incorporated October, 2016 1
Introductions Abbie Curtis GlobeScan Senior Project Manager Andy Hickman Tesco Plc Responsible Sourcing Manager - Seafood Richard Stobart MSC Global Head of Marketing 2
Today s Agenda 1. Ocean Sustainability: Do Consumers Care? Consumer insights from GlobeScan and MSC Discussion and reaction from MSC and Tesco 2. How Can Ecolabels Empower Consumers and Enhance Trust In Brands? Consumer insights from GlobeScan and MSC Discussion and reaction from MSC and Tesco Please write your questions in the chat box and we will address these after each section. We ll try to allow 15 minutes at the end of today s session for questions and discussion. 3
4 Introduction to MSC Consumer Perceptions Study 2016
How consumer intelligence supports MSC theory of change Fisheries which meet MSC Standard are independently labelled Retailers and restaurants choose MSC-labelled seafood More fisheries choose to improve their practices and volunteer to be assessed against the MSC Standard Traceable supply chain assures consumers that only seafood from MSClabelled fishery is sold with MSC ecolabel Market demand for MSC labelled seafood increases Consumers choose MSC-labelled seafood 5
Ocean Sustainability: Do Consumers Care? 6
Consumers on the need to switch to sustainable sources Across the world, seafood consumers generally agree that to save the oceans we need to consume seafood from sustainable sources; support is highest among older consumers 7
Concern and understanding of ocean sustainability Reflecting their understanding of the issue, consumers also appreciate the need to switch their eating habits to more sustainable seafood and claim to understand the term sustainable on packaging However, consumers are more split about working conditions Describes opinion well (5+6+7) Neutral (4) Doesn t describe opinion well (1+2+3) Don t know People should be prepared to change to another type of fish if it is more sustainable 68% 16% 11% 4% I understand the term 'sustainable' when I see it as a claim on a product 67% 16% 13% 4% I want to know that fish I buy can be traced back to a known, trusted source 65% 18% 15% 2% I am concerned that fish I buy comes from a company that does not care about working conditions 52% 21% 23% 4% 8
What motivates people when buying fish? Health, freshness, safe to eat and taste (quality); sustainability is also a strong motivator, ranking above price and brand Importance score (out of ten) Most important Least important 9 Good for my health/my family's health Fresh Quality Safe to eat Taste Sustainably sourced/environmentally friendly Not GMO Price Dolphin/turtle friendly A type of fish Ive always eaten Fairly traded Clearly marked country of origin Caught in the wild Easy to cook Has an ecolabel Organic Sourced locally Preferred brand Fishing method Farmed 4.44 4.40 4.30 4.16 4.08 4.05 4.05 3.46 3.42 2.94 2.74 2.32 5.49 5.39 6.22 8.36 8.31 8.10 7.86
Conclusion: Ocean sustainability is a topic with global relevance, ranking relatively highly in consumers seafood purchase decisions Implication: Generally the results suggest that brands do not need to focus on educating consumers about seafood sustainability consumers are already aware of the issue. The opportunity is for brands and ecolabels to focus on activating and enabling consumers to act on their values during the shopping experience let s discuss 10
11 How Can Ecolabels Empower Consumers and Enhance Trust In Brands?
Perceived contribution of different actors to protecting oceans Overall, NGOs are perceived to be contributing the most to protection of the oceans; retailers, large companies and government lag behind Contributing well (6+7 on 7-pt scale) 41% 36% 25% 20% 19% 17% 14% 13% 12% 11% NGOs Scientists The UN Local community action groups Consumers of fish The fishing industry Press and media Our Large national companies government and brands Shops and retailers Base: Seafood consumers globally, n=16,876 12 Question: 3. How well do you think the following institutions are contributing to protecting the ocean environment? Please use a scale from 1-7 where 1 is not very well and 7 is very well
Demand for independent labelling A large majority of seafood consumers agree that brands claims about sustainability should be independently labelled Supermarkets and brands claims about sustainability and the environment need to be clearly labelled by an independent organisation 13
Ecolabel impact on trust in brands Consumers are positive about the impact of ecolabels on their trust in product brands; this impact is highest among females, younger consumers and those with children Ecolabels on seafood products raise my trust and confidence in the brand 14
Trust in MSC Consumers who have seen the MSC label typically trust it and agree that it helps them recognise and reward sustainable fishing Little or no trust (1+2+3) 8% Don t know 6% Moderate trust (4) 17% 69% High trust (5+6+7) 15
Awareness of MSC label among general public The challenge is further building consumer awareness of ecolabels globally 16
Conclusion: Consumers do not see leadership from many brands or retailers on ocean sustainability; they support and trust ecolabels, which can have a halo effect on brands, but awareness of labels remains a challenge Implication: This challenge presents opportunities for partnership; there are benefits for brands and retailers to be seen partnering with NGOs and scientific organisations, and to use ecolabels to boost trust in their claims about ocean sustainability let s discuss 17
18 Discussion and questions
19 Thank you