vegetables

40
R&D
Consumer
Alignment
Fresh is best for
Millennial shoppers
THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET FOR
FRESH VEGETABLES IS TAKING ON
A NEW DIRECTION WITH THE RISE
OF THE MILLENNIALS. TO HELP THE
VEGETABLE INDUSTRY CAPITALISE
ON THIS TRANSITION, CONSUMER
RESEARCH AGENCY COLMAR BRUNTON
UNDERTOOK AN EXTENSIVE LEVY-
FUNDED STUDY INTO WHAT MAKES
THIS NEW WAVE OF CONSUMERS TICK.
JARROD STRAUCH REPORTS.
Millennials love their
vegetables.
That was the message from
an online study conducted
across six weeks by consumer
research agency Colmar
Brunton, which found that 99
per cent of consumers aged
18 to 35 years enjoy eating
vegetables. The study was
conducted as part of the
Project Harvest consumer
research project commissioned
by Horticulture Innovation
Australia (Hort Innovation).
This key demographic is set
to become the leading grocery
buyer in Australian households
over the next decade, and
using the insights from
Colmar Brunton’s research,
the vegetable industry is in a
valuable position to capitalise
on its ascendancy.
In particular, increasing
the level and relevance of
communication to consumers
about fresh vegetables could
connect directly with Millennials.
Colmar Brunton found that
many Millennials have a limited
knowledge of seasonality, the
benefits of local produce, the
origin of their vegetables and
how to reduce waste when
using their vegetable purchases.
However, they’re also eager
to learn, with the majority
of Millennials wanting to
see more information about
the seasonality of their food
purchases. These shoppers
are interested in information
that’s accessible at the point
of purchase, either in-store
or on-pack.
In general, Colmar Brunton
found that communication to
Millennials can afford to be
more specific and more detailed
than what has been provided
to previous generations, and
connecting this information with
the cost-benefits could increase
vegetable purchases.
For many Millennials, the
quality of their produce is
inherently linked with its
provenance. More than half
of the respondents said that
knowing where their vegetables
are grown is important because
of varying degrees of trust in
quality standards in different
growing countries.
Millennials also make other
judgements based on country
of origin. Nearly half of the
respondents said that knowing
the provenance of their
produce is important because
of perceptions of higher
food safety – in particular,
respondents explicitly stated
that they believe Australian
produce is safer to eat than
international produce.
However, the research also
showed that Millennials don’t
actually know where the fresh
produce in their shopping
basket comes from. More than
half of Millennial shoppers
believe that the majority of fresh
vegetables sold in supermarkets
are imported, even though the
total value of fresh vegetable
imports into Australia is only
2.3 per cent of Australia’s value
of production of vegetables for
human consumption.
Millennials also draw a direct
link between fresh vegetables
and quality, with many believing