Without taste there is no quality

GfK and BVE present consumer study Consumers' Choice 2011 at Anuga

Food has to taste good, otherwise there is no quality. That's what 96% of consumers say in the current consumer study “Consumers' Choice2011”, which GfK and BVE presented on the occasion of the world's leading trade fair for food, Anuga.

"Consumers have a positive image of food quality in Germany, but they expect more information from industry," comments Dr. Sabine Eichner, Managing Director of BVE, the study.” As a food expert, the food industry, together with its partners in the food industry, must better explain to people how carefully food is produced today and what contribution companies make every day to the safety, quality and value for money of food .”

“In recent years, consumers are paying more and more attention to quality. The study helps to better understand the different quality dimensions of the consumers and to make the different quality target groups more tangible”, says Thomas Bachl, Managing Director of GfK Panel Services Germany. With “Consumers' Choice 2011”, a highly topical subject is again being addressed in the fourth edition.

30.000 households were asked about their attitudes towards food quality and consumer confidence via the GfK Household Panel. The study connects consumer attitudes with their actual shopping behavior. Therein lies its special value.

Quality orientation of Germans is increasing

In recent years, the importance of quality as a purchasing criterion has increased compared to price. 49% of Germans say that quality is most important to them. In contrast, 51% say price is most important. Compared to other European countries, the Germans are the least quality-oriented and most price-oriented.

But quality shopping is also a question of income: 60% of quality-oriented households have a net household income of more than €2.000 per month. Older consumers place greater value on food quality, with 43% of quality-conscious households aged 60 and over. Their shopping behavior differs greatly from that of working people.

Quality has many dimensions

Quality is a very complex and, above all, strongly subjective term. Quality is given to consumers when the manufacturer's product promise matches their product expectations. But what are these expectations? With the help of 25 individual statements, it was clarified which quality aspects are important for consumers.

Consumers give a clear answer: for 96%, quality is when it tastes good. A simple answer that is nevertheless surprising in this breadth, precisely because in the public debate quality is often equated with aspects such as additives or organic.

In second place, 93% of consumers named food safety and health. The quality dimensions of taste and safety are also underpinned by a high level of approval for the aspects of appetizers, freshness, freedom from residues and healthy ingredients. All of these criteria are "selfish" criteria that benefit the individual consumer.

Criteria oriented towards the common good, such as “species-appropriate animal husbandry” and “fair prices for producers” received 74% approval. However, it must be borne in mind here that such socially desirable commitments are often met with greater approval than is actually the case in the population. In real shopping behavior, other factors are often decisive.

Social approval of their food choices among families (72%) and guests (64%) is very important to many consumers.

Simple preparation options and practical packaging are indispensable quality features for more than half of the consumers.

Slightly lower are requirements such as "regionality" and "German origin" with 49% and 40% respectively. - Organic only reaches 21%.

German consumers can be divided into five quality types, each of which has very different attitude profiles. Income, living situation, level of education and age play an important role in quality standards.

Quality of food in Germany better than abroad

54% of consumers emphasize that the quality of food in Germany is better than abroad. Only one in ten takes the opposite view. Overall, consumers give the range of food in Germany very good marks.

41% of consumers think that the quality of food has improved in recent years.

However, 81% of households find it difficult to correctly assess the quality of food. Although taste is mentioned as the dominant quality feature, many consumers no longer have the confidence to judge quality themselves. The often negative media coverage of food seems to have left traces of uncertainty among consumers.

76% of households think food quality should be more strictly controlled. The uncertainty among consumers has also resulted in the call for more state controls.

The need for information about food is increasing

 37% of consumers say that industry and trade do not provide good information about the quality of food. This indicates an increased need for information on the part of consumers, which the economy will have to take more into account in the future.

Consumers trust Stiftung Warentest

 Food quality is a matter of trust - but what information can you trust? Consumers primarily seek advice from test reports such as those from Stiftung Warentest and Ökotest. 70% agree with this statement. Consumer protection organizations are in second place with 65%.

Then, in 3rd and 4th place, are the handicraft businesses and farmers, who appear less anonymous to consumers and can be addressed personally.

When it comes to trust, food manufacturers and the food trade only come in 15th and 14th place. Only 18% of consumers trust the industry when it comes to quality.

This clearly shows that the economy has to overcome the distance to the consumer. By strengthening the communication and educational work of the economy, which the consumer is missing, it will be possible to build trust again. Even if similar surveys reveal a general lack of trust in business and politics. So this result of the study must stimulate to improve the communication. The food industry is determined to take on this challenge. In conclusion, politicians rank last, 18th, on the consumer confidence scale for food quality.

Charts for the study are available here PDF ready for download.

The complete brochure can be obtained from BVE at www.bve.online.de/publications and GRP can be ordered.

Source: Cologne [ BVE / GfK ]