DLG Food Days 2012: "Focus on food communication"
DLG Food Days in Darmstadt - How to respond to the crisis of confidence? - 450 participants from all food areas discussed in Darmstadt
"Confidence" is ranked by "Fresh" and "price" the third most important criteria when buying food. However, distrust almost 60 percent of Germans in the food industry. A number that startles and food producers must cause "to free themselves from the informational impasse," said DLG President Carl-Albrecht Bartmer at the DLG food days, the most 17. and 18. September took place in Darmstadt. 450 participants from all sectors of the food industry discussed over two days on current topics and strategies. In the center of the large plenary on the second day of the DLG Food Day focused on "food communication".
The DLG Food Days were once again a meeting place and discussion forum for the food industry from all over Germany this year. The plenary session, the two sensor technology forums and the award ceremonies "Prize for the Best" were attended by around 450 participants this year. The focus of the concluding large plenary event was the topic of "food communication" and the resulting challenges for food producers.
The current consumer picture
The question of the extent to which "the" consumer needs protection has been on the move again for a number of years. Since the mid-90s, case law has been based on the model of the average consumer, who goes through consumer life with "average interest and information" and deals with product information, explains Dr. Markus Grube, Attorneys Krell Weyland Grube. However, since 2009, private and state initiatives in the Federal Republic of Germany have raised the question of consumers' need for protection and, via the European institutions, have made this a European issue again. The current discussions about food and its production should also be seen against this background.
Central consumer issues: trust, origin, openness
Johannes Dorn, rheingold institute for qualitative market and media analysis, currently sees the most important values for consumers in the areas of "trust", "origin" and "openness" - and thus quality. In a world that is becoming increasingly complex and unmanageable, nutrition and thus food issues are becoming increasingly important as issues that can still be influenced. Accordingly, consumers would be critical of food and its producers.
A forecast that is also supported by the results of the DLG study "Food Communication", which was presented for the first time at the DLG Food Days: When asked about the most important criteria when buying food, the aspects "freshness" (95%) and " Price" (81%) comes first. "Trust" follows in third place as an important decision criterion (78%) when choosing food, followed by the topics "origin", "nutritional values" and "regionality". However, "trust" is also more important to the consumers surveyed than "control" (62%) and "transparency" (62%). There are differences in "trust" with regard to social class and gender. Men have more trust in the state and the media, while women have more trust in the food industry. Trust is based on past experience, even if it's not always your own. In addition to consumer tests and voluntary controls by independent institutes and reports in the media, this also includes packaging declarations and corporate campaigns such as the "transparent company" or the "Open Day".
"Control and transparency do not immediately create more trust," summarized Günther Nessel, agency taste (Offenbach), one of the key results of the study. Rather, it calls for even more control and even more transparency. Companies must treat consumers as equals: Sharing the same set of values creates trust and strengthens customer relationships. "Basically everyone wants to trust, because it makes everyday life easier. Consumers generally forgive open and honest communication for admitting weaknesses and mistakes, because it creates trust," says Nessel.
Closer to the consumer
According to Andreas Severin, companies in the food industry have to reduce their distance from customers and (again) learn to be close to consumers; Co-partner of the PR agency crossrelations. The dynamics of the social web require a reorientation: "Brands have to change into social actors and convince with attitude! Staging leads to the sidelines," is one of Severin's recommendations. This also includes a credible range of information for the media. Because the crisis in the media, according to Severin, is also contributing to the crisis in the food industry. Concentration processes and staff cuts in the publishing houses led to bottlenecks in research and to increasing consonance in the dissemination of alleged scandal reports.
For Karin Tischer, Managing Director of the food & more food innovation center, closer proximity to the consumer also means transparency and credibility in the recipe and immediate product presentation. After all, the composition of food is viewed more and more critically by consumers today. It is also important to react quickly and consistently to critical situations. To do this, companies would have to create appropriate internal structures and have a network, both of which would enable them to react quickly.
For Prof. Dr. Achim Stiebing, Professor of Meat Technology at the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences in Lemgo, that food producers will have to communicate more clearly in the future. This means better explaining processes in the food industry and working out the reference to scientific knowledge and the benefits for the consumer in a more comprehensible manner. For this dialogue it is important to create neutral platforms on which controversial opinions can be discussed without prejudice.
Source: Darmstadt [DLG]
