Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Market factors
- Food prices influencing consumers’ purchasing behaviour
- Brexit and its impact on consumers’ spending
- Consumers seek locally sourced produce
- Healthier food options attract Irish consumers
- Environment and animal welfare important to consumers
- Innovations
- The consumer
- Six in 10 Irish consumers are main person responsible for household grocery shopping
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- Figure 1: Grocery shopping responsibility in the household, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Standard branded food and drink products favourited by Irish consumers
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- Figure 2: Types of products (standard branded vs own-brand) consumers opt for across food and drink items, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Local and fresh food and drink products worth the premium price
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- Figure 3: Factors worth paying more for, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Irish consumers rate taste over branding
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- Figure 4: Agreement with statements related attitudes towards premium food and drink products, NI and RoI, June 2018
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Food prices affecting consumers’ food and drink choices
- Political and economic uncertainty affecting consumers’ confidence when buying premium products
- Locally produced and sourced food and drink products in high demand
- Healthy foods appealing to Irish consumers
- Irish consumers seeking to protect environment and animal welfare
Market Drivers
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- Food prices and their influence on consumers’ spending habits
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- Figure 5: RoI consumer price index – All goods vs food and non-alcoholic beverages, June 2016-June 2018
- Figure 6: NI consumer price index – All goods vs food and non-alcoholic beverages, June 2016-June 2018
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- Figure 7: Average amount that consumers spend each week for household groceries, NI, September 2017
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- Figure 8: Average amount that consumers spend each week for household groceries, RoI, September 2017
- Brexit and its effect on consumers’ shopping behaviour
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- Figure 9: Financial health of Irish consumers, NI and RoI, June 2017 and June 2018
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- Figure 10: Thinking specifically about your own personal financial situation, do you think that it will improve, stay the same or decline over the next 12 months, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 11: Consumer confidence index, NI, Q1 2016-Q1 2018
- Figure 12: Consumer sentiment index, RoI, June 2017-June 2018
- Irish consumers seek out transparency in times of distrust
- The appeal of food provenance
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- Figure 13: Agreement with selected statements relating to provenance, NI and RoI, March 2018 and September 2017
- Local food and drink products worth the premium price
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- Figure 14: Consumers who agree with statements ‘I would be encouraged to buy own-label instead of branded if the own-label product was guaranteed to be locally sourced’ and ‘I would be willing to pay more for locally sourced products’, NI and RoI, November 2016 and June 2018
- Consumers’ demand for healthy food on the rise
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- Figure 15: How consumers describe their typical eating habits and diet, NI and RoI, August 2016
- Figure 16: Top Five factors that consumers find to be most important when buying/eating healthy foods, NI and RoI, August 2016
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- Figure 17: Agreement with statements ‘More care is taken with premium food and drink to ensure it is safe for use’ and ‘Premium-priced food is typically healthier compared to standard food’, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Veganism and vegetarianism leading trends
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- Figure 18: Consumers who adhere to a specific diet type, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 19: Agreement with statement ‘I am eating more fruit and vegetables, and less meat compared to 12 months ago’, NI and RoI, November 2015 and November 2017
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- Figure 20: Types of free-from food and drink consumers have bought for themselves in the last six months, NI and RoI, April 2017
- Irish consumers concerned about the environment and animal welfare
- Ethical claims on the rise
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- Figure 21: Claims analysis in the food and drink category, UK and Ireland, January 2013-June 2018
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- Figure 22: Consumers who are willing to pay more for food and drink products that are environmentally friendly, ethical/Fairtrade and adhere to a high animal welfare standard, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Figure 23: Agreement with statements, NI and RoI, 2017 and 2018
- Special certifications make products worth paying more for
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- Figure 24: Agreement with statement ‘Special certifications (eg Fairtrade, vegan-safe, etc) products are worth paying more for’, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
Innovations – What You Need to Know
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- ‘Premiumisation’ trend has swept the food market in recent years
- ‘Organic’ and ‘natural’ adjectives denote quality and health in consumers’ minds
- Consumers want to see less plastic used
- Irish consumers have Locavore tendencies and consider sustainability part of a premium product position
Who’s Innovating?
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- ‘Premium’ is the top claim across all new food product launches
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- Figure 25: Claims analysis of new food products, UK and Ireland, January 2014-June 2018
- Food close to its natural state or organic appeals to Millennials and parents
- Reduced plastic content in packaging important for the ethical consumer
- Locally sourced produce also signifies quality for consumers
- Sustainability of food a concern for Irish consumers
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- Figure 26: New food products launched which claim to be ‘sustainable’, by sub-category, UK and Ireland, 2014-18
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Most Irish consumers report to be responsible for grocery shopping
- Irish consumers opt mainly for standard branded products when shopping for groceries
- Freshly prepared and locally sourced food and drink products worth paying extra for
- Taste perceived as the most important factor
Household Grocery Shopping Responsibility
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- Majority of Irish consumers do not share shopping responsibilities
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- Figure 27: Grocery shopping responsibility in the household, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Irish women the primary grocery shoppers
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- Figure 28: Main and a shared grocery shopping responsibility, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 29: Number of men mainly or jointly responsible for grocery shopping, GB and RoI, 2003-17
- Millennials least likely to be mainly responsible for grocery shopping
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- Figure 30: Consumers who are mainly responsible for grocery shopping in the household, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
Types of Products
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- Standard branded food and drink products the most popular amongst Irish consumers
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- Figure 31: Types of products (standard branded vs own-brand) consumers opt for across food and drink items, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Branded wines appeal to women, while Irish men opt for premium own-label products
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- Figure 32: Consumers who opt for standard branded and premium/luxury own-brand products when buying wine, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Figure 33: Consumers who opt for standard branded products when buying beer/cider, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Older generations and ABC1s opt for branded beverages
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- Figure 34: Consumers who opt for standard branded products when buying beer/cider, wine and soft drinks/juices, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 35: Consumers who opt for standard branded products when buying beer/cider, wine and coffee, by socio-economic group, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Premium own-label meats most popular amongst Irish consumers
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- Figure 36: Consumers who opt for premium/luxury own-brand and standard branded products when buying whole cuts of meat, by socio-economic group, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Mid-range own-brand prepared foods mostly appealing to Millennials and Gen-Xers
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- Figure 37: Consumers who opt for mid-range own-brand products when buying prepared foods, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 38: Consumers who opt for standard branded products when buying prepared foods, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Irish women more likely to buy special-requirement food
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- Figure 39: Consumers who buy special-requirement food, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
Factors Influencing Consumers to Pay More for Premium Food
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- Irish consumers willing to pay premium for fresh and locally sourced food and drink products
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- Figure 40: Factors worth paying more for, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Irish women willing to pay premium for ethical and environmentally friendly products
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- Figure 41: Consumers who are willing to pay more for ethical/Fairtrade, environmentally friendly and adhering to a high animal welfare standard products, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Men tend to spend more on quality brand-name items
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- Figure 42: Consumers who are willing to pay more for quality brand name, by gender, NI and RoI, June 2018
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- Figure 43: Consumers who are willing to pay more for quality brand name, by gross annual household income, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Locally sourced products encourage higher spend amongst Irish Baby Boomers
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- Figure 44: Consumers who are willing to pay more for locally sourced products, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
Attitudes towards Premium Food and Drink
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- Taste more important than branding according to Irish consumers
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- Figure 45: Attitudes towards premium food and drink products, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Irish Millennials willing to pay more for quality
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- Figure 46: Agreement with statement ‘It is worth paying more for quality food and drink’, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Men and Baby Boomers most likely to shop at specialist retailers
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- Figure 47: Agreement with statement ‘Specialist retailers are a good source of premium products’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Women and younger generations most likely to opt for premium food at special events
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- Figure 48: Agreement with statement ‘Special events will see me more likely to opt for premium food and drink’, by gender and age, NI and RoI, June 2018
- Older consumers less concerned with quality packaging
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- Figure 49: Agreement with statement ‘Quality packaging is important when buying food and drink’, by age, NI and RoI, June 2018
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Consumer research
- Data sources
- Generational cohort definitions
- Abbreviations
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