The food industry needs to reconcile the need for transparency and giving
consumers clear simple messages
The food industry needs to reconcile the need for transparency and giving
consumers clear simple messages, with the fact that shoppers say the amount of
information they receive from many sources can be overwhelming. This is one of
the messages from Joanne Denney-Finch, Chief Executive, IGD in her address to
the annual IGD Convention in London today.
“Shoppers tell us they are being bombarded by a variety of issues, day-in,
day-out from a variety of sources, not just the food industry and they say that
too much information bamboozles them. As we keep extending choice and providing
ever more information, shoppers say they fear that shopping trips could become a
nightmare,” she says.
Research carried out by IGD and EDS, the global technology services company,
for the Convention shows that 43% of people agree that the information they get
helps them to make better choices but 9% feel that the amount of information
provided makes choosing products more complicated.
Only 21% are very confident that they understand all the information they
receive about food, while 19% don’t mind how much information they get - because
they usually ignore it anyway. As well as information on price, use-by dates and
promotions, shoppers also want information about health and nutrition including
special dietary requirements; and ethical issues, such as provenance, relevant
religious information, or organic or Fairtrade.
“There is an opportunity to put shoppers in the driving seat allowing them to
choose how much information they want. We asked shoppers to rate ways of
delivering this and they voted for scanners on trolleys or even better, imagine
a smart card with your personal shopping list. Combine the card with the bar
code and the scanner and you could have a personalised assessment.”
Ms Denney-Finch will caution that this will require more than labels and
technology, It will also require trust.“Consumers judge us in more ways than
ever. It is by values and not just value. They care about health, ethics and
sustainability but they do not want to wrestle with complicated decisions and
trade offs. They want the industry to make it simple for them. Some of them are
even stretching the boundaries of trust and are already delegating
responsibility to the industry. They are looking for leadership and this is a
great opportunity to provide it,” she adds.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The IGD Convention took place at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on 9th October.
For more information, please visit
www.igd.com/convention.
