Key insights into understanding changes that can be anticipated in the world of food and health during the next 10 years were shared with more than 50 industry leaders and media at a business networking breakfast in Sydney last week.
Dr Kelli Hayes, Director of Corporate Strategy at Denmark-based global bioscience company Chr. Hansen, said consumers’ pursuit of ‘real food’ produced constant negotiation among the five value drivers – tasty, healthy, convenient, authentic, and safe – and the dilemmas and trade-offs they involve.
“Negotiating these drivers results in people facing difficult dilemmas and contradictions,” she said. “For example, consumers often find it difficult to find healthy foods that are also safe to eat, since the healthiest foods are those that are high in nutrients and contain no chemicals, but such unprocessed, fresh foods tend to be unstable and present a safety risk.
“Consumers also think it’s difficult to find food that is both healthy and convenient, since eating healthily requires extra time and energy that people are hard-pressed to find.
“Providing affordable solutions that meet multiple value drivers will be the key to the industry’s success and present significant innovation opportunities.”
These insights were gathered from research in three influential markets:
- The US, where consumers and producers are pushing new and innovative food practices.
- Europe, which has changing consumer habits, regulators considered ahead of other markets, and innovative retailers.
- China, which has high growth and large scale potential.
Dr Hayes was joined by social researcher Mark McCrindle, from McCrindle Research, who discussed the impact of Generation Y emerging and beginning to have families in record numbers.
“We are seeing a group of parents who are more food literate and tech savvy than ever before,” he said. “They’re label readers and seek information about the foods they buy and are particularly conscious when buying food to feed their children.”
Mr McCrindle also said online shopping for fresh food had not taken off like other categories had, because “people are still keen to see, touch and smell their food before purchasing it”.
The event was held at Taronga Zoo’s Harbourview Terrace in Sydney. A similar event was held in Melbourne at the NGV International on October 18.
