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- Local sourcing background
- Market size
- What makes food 'local'?
- Motivations for buying local food
- Certification
- Barriers
Local sourcing background
IGD’s shopper research shows that nearly a third (30%) of shoppers claim to be specifically purchasing locally produced food. This group has doubled in size since 2006, with the upward trend withstanding the pressures of recession during 2009.
For retailers, these claims are born out in practice. For example, Tesco stock approximately 3,000 local lines and work with over 480 local and national suppliers. In 2008, local produce accounted for £624 million or 2.2% of UK sales, compared with 1.7% the previous year.
Market size
The market for locally and regionally sourced food products in the UK is estimated to have grown by 15% from £3.75bn in 2005 to £4.3bn in 2007. (Source: Defra, IGD UK Grocery Outlook 2007).
Locally and regionally sourced products
Market Size and Forecast (£bn)
What makes food 'local'?
There is no widely accepted definition of ‘local’.
Research by the Food Standards Agency in 2007 showed that the majority of shoppers (40%) believed the term 'local' referred to products within a ten-mile radius of their home. Other definitions include 'from their county' (20%), 'neighbouring country' (15%) or 'from their region' (20%). Also, the majority of shoppers did not think that food packaged or processed in their region, but sourced from outside, counted as 'local food'.
A Government report suggested that most definitions of local contain some combination of the following issues:
- Production takes place within a specified locality
- Production methods respect sustainable principles
- Sales takes place within a specified distance of the place of production
- Production and sales provide social benefits to the local economy and/or wider community
In other words, the essence of localness is that food hasn’t travelled far from producer to consumer, and that it is considered by the consumer to be local at the point of consumption.
In some places, for example, Cornwall, consumers would expect local food to come from quite a narrow radius, generally within the county. In other places, for example, London, a much broader area would be considered local, perhaps much of southern England. A single geographical definition will not cover these different circumstances.
Motivations for buying local food
IGD's research identifies three key reasons shoppers give for buying local food:
- Freshness - over half (57%) of shoppers perceive local food to be fresher because it hasn't travelled as far
- Economic factors - over half (54%) want to support local producers, while many others see it as a way of supporting local retailers (34%) or keeping jobs in the area (29%)
- Environmental factors - three in ten (30%) shoppers are motivated to buy local food because they think it is good for the environment because it hasn’t travelled as far
Reasons for buying locally produced food
Source: IGD Shopper Trends 2010 report
The resilience of local foods during the recession is driven particularly by the growing commitment of shoppers to support their local economy. Each of the economic factors has increased significantly over the last two years as a reason for buying locally produced foods.
Certification
SALSA is the Food Safety Certification Scheme for small to medium sized producers.
The scheme provides national and regional buyers with the confidence that SALSA approved businesses make safe and legal products.
SALSA is supported by the Food Standards Agency, DEFRA and by the majority of the UK’s leading retailers and food service providers.
For more information visit www.salsafood.co.uk
Barriers
Retailers report that barriers to increased sourcing of local food include:
- Producers' lack of market awareness
- Producers' reluctance to work with large customers
- Lack of scale and potential to upscale product for the mainstream market
- Distribution
Asda pioneered local food hubs to facilitate sourcing of local food and saw sales of local food increase by 41% in 2008/9 in its stores in England and Wales. The retailer currently has over 6,500 local lines on its shelves across the UK.
Success in part is down to its ‘hub' system which has been in place since 2002. There are nine hubs working in 14 regions across the UK which act as a single distribution point, saving on average three million food miles a year.
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