Transcript driving kids to healthy foods

Attitudes to
Local
A presentation to FDIN
16 May 2007
Agenda
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What ‘local’ means to consumers
How far is local
Is everything going to ‘go local’?
The role of local
Who can do local
Conclusions
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What ‘local’ means
Local is …
• Highly emotive for consumers.
• It the most motivating way of talking
about food compared to Fairtrade,
organic, sustainable, responsible
etc.
• Consumers passionately positive
about local and had very little
negative to say about it.
• What short comings there are
forgiven because they are seen as
re-affirming the positive values
(short shelf life, muddy, ugly food)
A great way to consumers
hearts
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Mood Boards
Fresh natural and regional
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Local is about taste
• The strongest driver for local is the
perception of vastly superior taste
“taste like it should”
“tomatoes taste like tomatoes”
“I make my own juice and I wont
use anything except carrots that
I’ve bought from a market,
otherwise they taste of
chemicals not carrots”
“it tastes hugely better”
“it’s like a treat”
Strong consumer benefit
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Local is about freshness
• Taste is driven by freshness. Produce
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is grown closer to home, so consumers
assume it has had 48 hours to ripen if
bought from a farmers market vs
weeks if bought from a supermarket.
“strawberries and raspberries are best
if from Kent or Scotland”
“for fresh produce its got to be within
50 miles so its fresher”
As less transport is required and shelf
life is shorter consumers perceive that
no pesticides are used.
“its more natural and not covered in
chemicals”
Better quality
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Local is about regional specialties
• For other products regional specialities
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and expertise are seen as more
important eg. Dorset Blue cheese, West
Country farmhouse cheddar, Welsh lamb
“Jersey Royal Potatoes and Welsh
Lamb”
“Aberdeen Angus from Scotland is better
than Argentinean beef”
There is an association with the actual
location. The experience of eating food
from the region in the region is expected
to be superior to eating it in London.
“Welsh lamb taste different if you are in
Wales”
Connects us to the
countryside
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Local is about provenance
• On a trust level local food is seen as
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being traceable.
“during all the BSE stuff I started
buying my meat from a butcher, he
knew exactly where the meat came
from”
The downsides are just accepted as
proof of provenance.
“farmers markets’ veg still has the
mud on it, it looks like its been
pulled out of the ground and put in a
basket vs being sprayed with
chemicals and covered in plastic”
Trusted and authentic
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Local is about craft
• Consumers romanticise about a
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time when products were lovingly
hand crafted probably to handed
down recipe.
The story behind where a product
comes from gives a sense of care
and craft and heightens
expectations of taste and quality.
Artisanal cues are key
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Local has a human face
• Local is more personal
“you probably know the farmer selling it
to you”
• It holds communities together
“get the sense that the money is going
back in to the local community”
“Tesco is anti-local…they ruin local
economies and communities”
• It’s the British version of Fairtrade
“it stops Tesco’s plans for world
domination”
Human connection
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Local is Romantic
• Local has many romantic and
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nostalgic associations.
Consumers appreciate the strong
connection with a slower more
natural pace of life.
‘It’s a lovely thought to be able to go
wander down to a little local store
and get some fresh produce”
“If you go down to the Cotswolds its
more they live..”
“it makes me think of the Archers
and farmhouses”
An antidote to modern life
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Local is good for the environment
• Consumers recognise the benefits
of not having to transport products
long distances but this is not as
motivating as the personal benefits
of taste and freshness
“its better for the environment as it
doesn’t have to go as far”
“there are less food miles aren’t
there”
Guilt free
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How far is local?
How far is local
Sausages
Soups
Juices
Grain
Meat
Farmers
Markets eggs
50 miles
Tomatoes
Jams
Vegetables
UK
Baked
bread
Cheese
Fruit
Prepared
food
Sauces
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Is everything going
to ‘go local?’
Local is expensive
• Local food is adored as a treat but is too expensive and impractical to
replace everything
“farmers markets are very nice but more expensive”
“ I couldn’t afford to shop there every week”
A treat but not for everyday
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Local can’t provide everything
• Consumers are very attached to some
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products that can’t be grown in the UK.
“you can’t grow bananas here”
“if I really want strawberries in
December then I’ll have them”
“Britain is so multi-cultural now, people
come over here and want their
products from home and then we all
get used to them
There is a perception that we are not as
self sufficient as we were
“We don’t have enough space to grow all
of our food here, we have to import some
of it”
Foreign produce still has its
place
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Local isn’t convenient
• Because its seen as fresher and not
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covered in pesticide its not expected to
last as long.
“I’d rather go there and buy 4 carrots
rather than a whole kilo that I have to
throw away at the end of the week”
This is fine but it means people will have
to do several shops each week instead
of one. Some resistance to this.
“I don’t have time to do that all the time I
still need the convenient stuff from the
supermarket”
Takes time to slow down
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The role of local
Should mainstream brands do local?
• There isn’t the expectation for mainstream brands do provide local.We still
need convenient everyday foods and foods that can’t be grown in the UK.
• Consumers would like to see local forming a larger part of their weekly
shop but there is still a role for the benefits offered by national and
international brands.
• Large brands should find other ways of offering some of the benefits that
consumers seek.
– How might learnings from a market stall applied to an in-store Dolmio
stand help the brand get closer to consumers?
– How could seasonality be brought into the range?
Local isn’t essential. More
upside than downside
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Who can do local?
Can mainstream brands do local?
• There are some big challenges for brands to deliver the full local
experience that consumers get from truly local products. Large brands are
almost the antithesis of local
– Depth of provenance, quality, community, story and a human face are
all required to a degree that is difficult to do for a large brand.
“No, I don’t see them doing it”
How authentic can you
really be?
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Can mainstream brands do local?
• Lessons can be learnt but it depends how closely the brand values match
those of local and if its relevant.
– McDonalds might use local sourcing as a reassurance of quality and to
defend criticism, but its difficult to see the brand sharing the same
values
– The Innocent brand could feasibly pursue a local offering but fruits
used prevents this.
Practical application
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Sourcing strategies
• If a brand’s values do fit with local what how is this supported by the
sourcing strategy
– National brands such as Hovis could challenge Warburton’s family
baker image by sourcing wheat locally instead of from Canada as
Warburton’s do.
– How far might manufacturers go in reconsidering their approach to
centralised production? Is there a future for Hovis local bakery
franchises?
Forms part of a core
strategy
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McDonalds sources locally!
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Retailers need to take action
• Retailers are best placed to bring local to the masses. Consumers are very
positive about the idea of supermarkets providing more more local food.
“That would really appeal to me”
• How do you merchandise differently for local?
– Create a ‘local’ section?
– Recreate the farmers market feel in-store with loose vegetables and
stands?
• Some retailers were praised for supporting small suppliers
“Waitrose is using a 15 year old boy to supply them with jam”
The gate keepers
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Changing market dynamics
• As new local brands launch how will
retailers manage dealing with
smaller suppliers.
• How can retailers support smaller
suppliers in getting ready to supply
a supermarket?
Conclusion or
highlight panel
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Big opportunity for food service
• For restaurants, hotels and cafes it
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is a given that they could be
benefiting from using locally
sourced food.
Food service organisations also
could and should be using locally
sourced food.
The Cornwall Food Programme
uses locally sourced food to supply
hospitals.
– The programme has been
praised for helping the local
economy, reducing food miles
and providing better quality food
to patients
Lots of upside and
potentially a driving force
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Conclusions
Conclusions
• Very emotive and a rich territory for
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engagement
Quality, taste, freshness, community
and authenticity
Not essential for all to get involved focus on the upsides.
Lessons to be learnt about
connecting with consumers:
seasonality, human face, craft
Food service and retailers have the
easiest wins and the biggest role to
play in accommodating small
suppliers
Get ready for the long tail
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Local charm
Luke Vincent [email protected]
Telephone +44 (0)20 7262 4488 www.dragonbrands.com