Nearly two-thirds (65%) of Irish consumers think a food product labelled ‘artisan’, ‘farmhouse’, ‘traditional’ or ‘natural’ is from a small business and/or is locally produced.
The results come from the latest Consumer Insights survey by Empathy Research, which gathered information from 981 Irish respondents. Interestingly, more women (71%) than men (59%) believed that the terms meant the product was created locally or by a small business.
Just over half (55%) of 18-24 year olds think the same, however, among older age groups this rises significantly, 25-34 (62%), 35-44 (71%) and 45+ (67%).
A third (34%) of Irish consumers also think that food packaging containing words like ‘artisan’ are more wholesome/healthier, with more women (36%) of this opinion than men (32%). Just 7% of Irish shoppers believe that food products labelled ‘artisan’, ‘farmhouse’, ‘traditional’, etc. are 'the same' as other brands. The 25-34 year olds age group were found to be slightly more of this belief than the other groups; 18-24 (6%), 25-34 (11%), 35-44 (4%) and 45+ (7%).
The survey also questioned participants on how important it was for food labels to create an 'accurate impression', with the majority of respondents (91%) believing it to be important or very important. While nearly seven out of ten women (69%) think it is 'very important' that products do not create false impressions using food packaging, just 58% of men felt the same. Nearly three-quarters (73%) of 45+ year olds think it is 'very important' that labels on food products create an impression that is accurate, which was significantly higher than all the other age groups; 18-24 (51%), 25-34 (48%) and 35-44 (65%).
Last month, the The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) announced a public consultation on the use of Food Marketing Terms in Ireland to provide an "agreed set of additional rules" for the food industry's use of the following marketing terms on foods: 'Artisan/Artisanal', 'Farmhouse', 'Traditional' and 'Natural'.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Genna Patterson
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