New DLG study: sustainability in the public eye
Results:
Sustainability is a topic of high consumer relevance. Depending on the social class, the topic is, however, perceived differently and is of varying interest.
Consumers consider the sustainability commitment of companies in the food industry to be imperative.
TV advertising alone helps significantly less than an integrated communication concept in which neutral reports in the media and the willingness of companies to communicate in the social media forums are taken into account.
Consumers expose individual communicative measures as "PR campaign" or "greenwashing". Holistic measures and seals of approval from neutral institutes promote credibility.
The upper and middle classes are ready to spend more money on sustainable food.
More deets:
The term sustainability is used today in many areas of our economic, ecological and social life. The food industry in particular is moving the subject more and more into the center of its consumer communication. But what does the consumer understand by this? Is the term more topical than "organic" or "regionality"? What does he promise people? How credible are today's "best practice" examples? These are the questions that the current study by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) investigates. In cooperation with the two agencies taste! (specializing in brand communication Food & Beverage) and organic (specializing in sustainability) around 2010 consumers in Germany were surveyed in July and August 1.000.
Sustainability is a topic that consumers have been following with growing interest over the past three to five years. However, the complexity of the topic is perceived differently in the various social classes. This is shown by the results of the DLG study "Sustainability and consumer perception" from summer 2010. Group discussions and online surveys with consumers were carried out on this topic within two months. Around 84 percent of all respondents have heard of the term - 94 percent in the upper social class and 77 percent in the lower social class.
Differences can be seen when asked what this term stands for: 22 percent associate it with natural regeneration, 18 percent with environmental protection and 14 percent with future-oriented action. Above all, the upper class sees the danger of an inflationary use of the term "sustainability" in public communication.
Interest in nutrition topics more firmly anchored in consciousness The study also shows that interest in nutrition topics is more firmly anchored in consciousness than was the case five or even ten years ago. Topics that are noticed today are above all those that trade, industry and the media regularly report on: organic, regionality, nutritional information, but also more complex topics such as fair trade are addressed here spontaneously. There are obviously regional differences. If you ask people in Munich, the word "regionality" is even more firmly attached and more topical than is the case in the north.
If you ask the consumer to rank communicative topics in nutrition, the following picture emerges: "Internationality", for example, which can be experienced in the form of "foreign" kitchens, has been an issue for consumers for more than 30 years . "Regionality" as a quasi-antipole is just three years old, but at the moment one of the main topics. "Ecological" is located in its roots by many people in the 70s and 80s. "Organic", on the other hand, has been of great and lasting interest for around five years thanks to the high level of commitment shown by retail companies. "Fresh" products and their positive effect on healthy eating have been felt by consumers for five to seven years. And "fair trade" products, which the consumer associates with cotton as well as coffee, tea, and chocolate, are believed to be on offer for three to five years. The topic of "sustainability" first appeared in consumer perception five years ago.
Seals help to identify, but ensure different levels of credibility Quality seals also provide orientation when perceiving the topic of sustainability. This shows, also because of the lack of a generally valid "sustainability" symbol, that the hexagonal national organic symbol is often associated with this topic. Bioland is clearly ahead of Demeter and Naturland, which scored the same points in this study. Fair trade surprises with high topicality, awareness and relevance and can be explained well above all by the upper class consumer despite the corresponding complexity. The characters for "Organic Agriculture" or "Rain Forrest Alliance" are at the lower end of the scale.
Advertising alone does not create sustainable perception. The subject of "sustainability" is a highly complex topic that is important to the consumer, but which is extremely difficult to convey. Another result of the study. Consumers consider communication concepts that they know almost exclusively from TV and that are not accompanied by holistic orchestration with other media such as PR or online communication to be significantly less credible than concepts that are communicated in several channels at the same time.
What can sustainability / sustainable action cost?
In Germany, only 13 percent of household income is used for eating and drinking. Price sensitivity is correspondingly high when it comes to the topic of "sustainability". But here, too, there are different insights and assessments depending on the social milieu. While the lower social classes are not willing to pay more money for sustainable food simply because of the fact that they have low incomes, the middle and upper classes are quite ready to accept that no improvement can be foreseen without additional costs. With a credible concept, one accepts additional costs of five to ten percent.
Conclusion
Environmentally and socially responsible behavior influence the perception of a company and can have a positive effect on purchasing decisions. However, consumers have different ideas about what the buzzword "sustainability" means. It is therefore necessary that sustainable action is accompanied by credible and, above all, comprehensible communication for the consumer.
The study is available for a nominal fee of 75 euros (plus VAT) from the taste! (www.taste.de) or at the DLG (eMail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots To display JavaScript must be turned on!) Is available.
Source: Frankfurt am Main [DLG]
