Demand for local
food to last beyond Covid-19
By GlobalData
Consumer | 12 August 2020
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Interest in local food spans age cohorts, GlobalData
survey shows |
As lockdowns
ease, there are signs consumer demand for local food – which grew during the
height of the pandemic – is sticking around, according to GlobalData
Consumer.
Against
the backdrop of Covid-19, localism has become an important factor shaping the decisions
consumers make when buying food products – and represents an opportunity for
industry.
According
to GlobalData's Covid-19 Recovery Consumer Survey, held from 8-12
July, 52% of consumers globally claimed locally-sourced ingredients were more
important (responses that spanned 'more important', 'significantly more
important' or their 'top priority') as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The
view was shared across generations, as at least 40% of respondents in each age
cohort placed the same level of importance on locally-sourced ingredients. This
interest presents a chance for packaged-food companies to emphasise
locally-sourced ingredients in order to attract shoppers in what remains an
uncertain trading environment.
How consumers rate locally-sourced ingredients
● Gen Z: 47
Source:
GlobalData
Concerns
about sustainability and a desire for more familiar ingredients has put local
fare in the spotlight during the global pandemic, as consumers look for
authenticity in products and become more interested in the provenance of ingredients.
The
UK's Food Standards Agency, which is looking at attitudes to food during the
Covid-19 pandemic, says more than a third of the country's consumers are buying
local food more often. Moreover, a survey in May from the UK's Stilton Cheese
Makers Association claimed to show almost two-thirds of UK consumers were more
likely to buy local produce to support the country's farmers.
This
interest looks likely to persist, as a notable proportion of consumers continue
to be interested in local products, even as lockdown measures have started to
ease. Localisation is therefore a key strategy for packaged-food companies and
industry organisations to attract consumers.
Even
before the onset of Covid-19, Danone had been vocal in its belief consumer
interest in local food was an important characteristic of a "food
revolution" reshaping the industry.
And,
last month, Danone chairman and CEO Emmanuel Faber said the Covid-19 lockdowns
had been "an incredible period of demonstrating how relevant that's going
to be for the future".
Packaged-food
brands could look to collaborate more often with local suppliers to more
closely align with this emerging – and growing – trend.
