Mairéad McKeown – Library Manager & Information Specialist - Bord Bia, Irish Food Board
This FoodAlert (the 3rd in a series of 3) will look at the importance of trends, highlight Nielsen’s top trends that will dominate the Irish grocery market in 2019 (Part 3 focusing on Origin & Provenance) and conclude with key questions and implications for Irish suppliers. If you’re an Irish supplier who wants to better understand buying Irish as an important purchase driver this article has been written with you in mind…
Why are trends so important?
As stated in Part 1 & 2 of this series, the importance of trends cannot be overstated. By keeping up with trends and understanding what’s coming next, Irish suppliers can better prepare for the future needs and wants of their consumers.
Top trends to dominate the Irish grocery market in 2019 (Nielsen, 2019):
As mentioned above, this is the 3rd FoodAlert of a 3 part series and will focus on Origin & Provenance.
Origin & Provenance:
Of the Top 100 Brands in 2018, 9 of the top 20 were Irish (Nielsen, 2018) and 3 Irish brands make it into the top 5 (RTE, 2018). This provides proof that Irish brands continue to play a leading role in the Irish grocery market.
Growth of Irish brands across categories:
The good news is Irish brands are experiencing growth in a number of categories. The growth in value terms, MAT (moving annual total) across meat, dairy, confectionery, jams & preserves, snacking and non-alcoholic beverages was highlighted at Nielsen’s 2019 State of the Nation event.
Top 3 drivers of purchase (Nielsen, 2018):
1. I like to support local farmers and local companies
2. Local food supports the local economy and communities
3. I like to eat products that are in Season
Source: Nielsen Shopper Survey May 2018 N = 507
Retailers get behind local:
Evidence of retailers responding to the local trend can be seen through these examples -
a). Supporting Irish suppliers:
SuperValu’s Food Academy – Supervalu gives small producers a big chance through joining forces with Bord Bia and the Local Enterprise Office Network to create the Food Academy Programme. Food Academy works with and nurtures small businesses through their journey from start up to getting their products on SuperValu’s shelves. There are currently over 300 Food Academy small producers in SuperValu stores.
Grow with Aldi - a supplier development programme developed in partnership with Bord Bia. 60+ Irish products, made by 35 Irish suppliers, listed in stores nationwide as part of an Aldi Specialbuys Promotion kicked off on Thursday, 6th June.
b). Supporting Irish sporting activities:
Lidl proudly supporting ladies Gaelic football - Lidl are the biggest supporter of women’s sport in Ireland, after investing €3.5 mn since the beginning of their partnership with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association in 2016.
c). Supporting local Irish causes:
Tesco Community Fund – Since 2014, Tesco has supported over 12,000 community projects nationwide with €3.7 mn in donations including schools, animal shelters, sports groups, elderly care centres, health organisations and much more.
The bottom line is consumers have a strong desire to support local jobs and communities, and retailers are getting behind the local trend.
Key Origin & Provenance Questions for Irish Suppliers:
- How can you influence and communicate in order to encourage new & continued purchases?
- Are you dialling up messaging around - Who the producer/farmer is? What the product is? Where (and how) the product is made? When the product was first made? Why the consumer should purchase (USP)? (Bord Bia, 2017)
- Think about what Fresh means within your category or for your product. How do you communicate freshness to your consumer?
- How can your products be healthy for the consumer and healthy for the world?
- What media channels can help you reach your target consumers?
- Think about where your product will be located in store. Are you competing with other local brands or are you competing with mass/mainstream brands?
- Have you got an innovation pipeline that will help you appeal to consumers who are looking for new food experiences?
The Implications for Irish suppliers:
Think about your own story and what you should be communicating and to whom. To help you do this, Bord Bia has identified 3 themes for communicating local:
a). Concern – local food as a moral political topic
b). Comfort – local food as a personal/emotional topic
c). Competition – local food as a rational/economic topic (Bord Bia, 2017)
Irish suppliers who wish to help consumers buy Irish need to understand how to encourage new and continued purchases. It’s all about fine tuning your story and tailoring your communication to the relevant target audience, for more on this check out Bord Bia’s report on “Local Food – Understanding Consumer Attitudes” (see full reference in the reference list below).
Finally, as previously stated in Part 1 & 2 of this series, think about how your brands/products can be both ‘Healthy for me’ and ‘Healthy for the world’ because according to Nielsen products in this sweet spot will thrive!
References:
Bord Bia. (2017). Local Food - Understanding Consumer Attitudes. Bord Bia. Retrieved from https://www.bordbia.ie/globalassets/bordbia.ie/industry/marketing-reports/consumer-reports/local-food-report-february-2017.pdf
Brands, I. (2019). Irish brands hold their own in Checkout Top 100 Brands. Retrieved from https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2018/0905/991725-checkout-top-100-brands/
Grow with Aldi - ALDI IE. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.aldi.ie/grow
Mc Keown, M. (2019). Nielsen on trends that will dominate in 2019 – Part 1 Health & Wellness. Retrieved from https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/insights/food-alert/nielsen-on-trends-that-will-dominate-in-2019--part-1-health--wellness/
Mc keown, M. (2019). Nielsen on trends that will dominate in 2019 – Part 2 Sustainability & Plastics. Retrieved from https://www.bordbia.ie/industry/insights/food-alert/nielsen-on-trends-that-will-dominate-in-2019---part-2-sustainability--plastics/
Nielsen. (2019). State of the Nation 2019. Nielsen.
SuperValu, h. (2019). Food Academy. Retrieved from https://supervalu.ie/real-people/food-academy-programme
Serious Support. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.lidl.ie/en/serious-support.htm
About Tesco Community Fund. (2019). Retrieved from https://food-and-community.tesco.ie/home/supporting-local-communities/community-fund-stories/what-is-community-fund/