Provenance plays a significant part in the decision making process for a sizeable proportion of the population, with just over 3 in 5 (61%) Irish adults claiming it is important to purchase products of Irish origin. Recent research from Empathy Research on behalf of Retail Intelligence, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,010 adults aged 18+, sought to understand the importance played by origin of food in the decision making process, particularly focusing on the role of Irish produce.
While the importance of buying Irish is evident, there are two categories where this importance is significantly more evident than others. When it comes to the most-important category to purchase products of Irish origin from, raw meat is deemed most important by just over half (53%) of all adults. The dairy category is second-most important, but with almost half the level of endorsement (27%) than recorded for raw meat. Other categories such as vegetables (8%), eggs (6%) and fruit (5%), are some way down the list in order of most important categories to buy Irish from.
In order to truly assess importance or provenance, consumers were asked their likelihood to buy non-Irish products if cost savings were to be made, these savings ranged from a 5% saving to a potential 30% saving. The importance of buying raw meat of Irish provenance is further emphasised by the fact that almost 4 in 10 (38%) consumers claim they would only ever buy raw meat of Irish origin, even with a potential 30% saving to be made by a non-Irish equivalent.
While the level of importance of provenance being placed on products by consumers is high, the level of scrutiny products are placed under when purchasing does not quite match the importance of provenance. Just over half (51%) would review all or a few products in detail for their origin, with almost a third (32%) of shoppers claiming they would only pass a cursory glance at the origin of a product before buying.
For more detailed findings on the impact of provenance on purchase behaviour as well as the price differential where non-Irish products would be purchased ahead of Irish products in key categories, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
