The importance of labelling in France and Belgium post lockdown
24th August 2020
Clodagh Murphy, Global Graduate Paris, Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board
The coronavirus crisis has changed consumer behaviour significantly. With health and economy at play, consumers have become more conscious than ever of the food that they consume and where it comes from. Consequently, the labels on product are more impactful than ever on the consumer’s decision making process. So how can we address these newfound concerns using labels?
Health became a major concern for consumers during these unprecedented times. This has thus made the labelling system the Nutriscore more important than ever for consumers. The Nutriscore is a labelling system where products are rated based on their nutritional value from a scale of A-E with A being the highest nutritional value and B being the lowest. Nutriscore products have grown in popularity with A and B products year on year sales up 0.5% and 0.4% respectively. According to a study by RelevanC Advertising, February 2019, 64% of French choose a product based on its Nutriscore. [1] Delhaize Belgium reported the average spend on Nutriscore A products grew 18% vs before Covid19 and that customers spent 19.8% of their total basket on healthy Nutriscore A+B products. [2].
Another trend that appeared during the pandemic was the push towards eating local. Consumers found that origin of a product was the most important labelling on a package after ingredients and expiry date. The push toward local was evident following the lockdown period with 39% (+4%) buying local products. During the confinement this was even more prominent with a rise of 18% compared to last year[3]. Even 41% of French post-lockdown said that they prioritise origin France/local products. [4] French retailers have responded to this by implementing their own origin label systems. Earlier in 2019 Intermarché released their Francoscore allowing consumers to see how much of the ingredients in a product were made in France. Not long after in January the “Purchasing Knowledge” label was launched by E. Leclerc: a similar concept indicating the origin of the main ingredients of a product and where they were processed. This is mainly available on the company's website, its drive-through* and gradually, being rolled out in stores, and on their private label products. [5]
It’s difficult to predict how long the local trend will persist and become part of the ‘new normal’. Irish producers should be aware of this and focus on the USPs of their products when entering markets such as France. Furthermore, the Nutriscore is becoming more important than ever for the post lockdown health conscious consumer. It is therefore important to adapt one’s product to optimize their rating and also to include this on packaging in these markets.
*Drive-throughs (Drive) are a common channel in France and Belgium and work on a click and collect basis where customers order their groceries online and choose a timeslot to collect them directly from the supermarket’s drive-through.
[1] Belloir, M. (2020). Les labels peinent à convaincre les Français. lsa-conso.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2020, from https://www.lsa-conso.fr/les-labels-peinent-a-convaincre-les-francais,350974.
[2] Delhaize webinar
[3] Parigi, J. (2020). La consommation responsable sort renforcée du confinement [Infographie - étude]. lsa-conso.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2020, from https://www.lsa-conso.fr/la-consommation-responsable-sort-renforcee-du-confinement-infographie-etude,354903.
[4] Kantar, Covid19 Monitor. (2020). Presentation.
[5] Cadoux, M. (2020). La mention de l'origine, un chantier pour tous [Enquête]. lsa-conso.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2020, from https://www.lsa-conso.fr/la-mention-de-l-origine-un-chantier-pour-tous,345210.