Retail
Retailers are increasingly using promotion of their ethical credentials as a way of differentiating themselves and their products.
In an attempt to provide consistent information to consumers and allow them to make informed purchasing decisions, a number of retailers have made commitments to introduce some form of environmental labelling for their products.
The challenge, and opportunity, for New Zealand is to embrace the retailer agenda and demonstrate their sustainable pedigree and help retailers in their quest to be green.
Consumer attitudes
Research indicates that the concept of food miles has not reached all consumers, but a reasonable proportion of people do have some awareness of the term. Awareness has not necessarily translated in to changes in consumer purchasing decisions. Quality, freshness and price still rank highly for consumers.
The buy local campaign presents challenges as often the motivation to buy local is to support local communities and farmers. Consumers are taking more interest in traceability, use of pesticides and all the other elements that go into food production.
These are areas in which New Zealand producers have a strong story to tell. And, while there may be a trend in the buy local direction, there will always be consumers who will want produce out of season and New Zealand can fill some of the seasonality gaps.
Almost all research suggests that women are far more likely to make purchasing decisions based on a product’s environmental, health or social impact than younger people or men.
Opportunities
- There are opportunities for New Zealand exporters who can prove their sustainability credentials — they are likely to win with retailers and appeal to consumers.
- There are a significant numbers of consumers who will buy on quality and value.
- Continued investment in promoting “brand New Zealand”, getting across sustainability and food safety and integrity messages will help New Zealand produce remain competitive and attractive.
Challenges
- The general trend to more traditional values (buy local, seasonal and fresh) embraces the “distance” issue without strictly being about food miles. It also operates at an emotive level. In this respect, it is this general trend that is potentially more of a threat than “food miles”.
- Many New Zealand products appeal to the type of consumer who is at premium end of the market where there is less price sensitivity but potentially greater sensitivity to environmental and food sourcing concerns.
