Food scares pushes organic food – Paul French

Higher income consumers increasingly spend money on organic food to protect themselves, tells retail analyst Paul French in the Pig Site. After seven major food scares in 2011 alone, consumers are voting with their feet.

The Pig Site:

Paul French, Chief China Market Strategist at Mintel, said: “The fact that Chinese consumers claim to have upped their spend on organics indicates a growing awareness of organic as a possible means of self protection. In a world where food contamination, spoilage, fake goods and poisoned products are a daily news story, how do you protect yourself, your children or your family? This is a major question for Chinese people and consumers are adopting multiple self-protection strategies in the face of the deluge of food scares that just keep on coming.”

“The significant rise in consumption of organic foods illustrates the extent to which (higher income) consumers will embrace any opportunity to buy and ‘consume’ foods they perceive to have stronger provenance or origins in the way that it was grown and sourced. The success of foods grown and produced for export, and those foods from ‘trusted’ foreign sources, are providing a level of ‘confidence’ that is seeing consumers engage more effectively with the brands.” Mr French continues….

“As China’s food scares crisis persists, companies continue to seek effective strategies to ensure that their products do no harm. However, a food scare is a many-headed hydra – farmers, logistics suppliers, food manufacturers, packagers and retailers are all weak points in a very weak chain. Brands can tap into this by ensuring their own supply chain is safe and that their customers’ trust is retained. The alternative is, at best, reduced sales and, at worst, criminal liability. Food safety in China is now a very serious business, not just for consumers but also for manufacturers and brands.” Mr French concludes.

More in the Pig Site.

Paul French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

At our first China Weekly Hangout, we looked into the reasons for foreigners to leave China. Not surprisingly, food security was high on the agenda.