The Power of Local Food !

How Millennial attitudes on food origin impact buying behaviors

!Q1 2014

Purpose

MindSwarms wanted to discover how often Millennials consider food origin when shopping and how it might affect their purchasing behaviors

• Understand the role food origin plays in Millennials’ attitudes about food quality

• Uncover how Millennials feel their attitudes and behaviors about food differ from their parents’

Research Objective

• National US sample

• 14 states/22 cities

• Ages 18 - 32

• Involved in food purchasing decisions

• Even male/female ratio

• Mix of ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds

Target Audience

MindSwarms Insights

1. Origin not only impacts the freshness/quality of the food, but also the “health” of it

2. Local food purchases can impact local economy

3. Buying local will ultimately help the environment

Millennials feel that their “buy local” behaviors have many important implications

The majority of Millennials are proud to say they have a very different set of food purchasing priorities versus their parents

My Parents’ Purchasing Priorities

• Acquire what is “on the list” with food origin as low priority

• Traditional grocery store chains are of a “good enough” standard

• Keep food expenditures low; get the “biggest bang for the buck”

• Purchase from wherever is the most convenient

My Purchasing Priorities

• Acquire local produce and meats that are “good for my body”

• The majority of grocery stores = inferior standards versus farmer’s markets, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s

• Support the local farmers and economy through local purchases

• Purchase locally for the most minimal impact on the environment

“I try to buy from roadside fruit stands and vegetables stands or organic markets. My parents don’t share the same values. They buy whatever is the most convenient when they want it and I personally don’t feel that’s the best way to go about it.” - Jessica, 29, FL

Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors have many important implications

“I’m definitely different from my parents. My parents go by cost. That’s their primary concern. They just go by what is cheapest. My veggies come from farmer’s markets and my meats come from Sprouts, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. I always do the research to check where they are from and to make sure they are healthy for my body.” - Amanda, 28, CA

Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors have many important implications

“The way I eat is very different [from my parents]. I grew up in rural Indiana and ate a lot of Baby Boomer factory food. A lot of processed food. A lot of the food that we bought at the grocery store was this type of factory processed food.” - Shawna, 29, IL

Millennials feel “buy local” behaviors have many important implications

• For some Millennials, “local” means local farmers/farm stands, but for others it is defined as U.S. versus foreign production

• A subset of Millennials felt it is very important to purchase food from areas that “specialize” in producing that food, even if that is outside of their region

Local is important to their health, but the definition of “local” and its specific impact on health varies

“I like buying food that is as local as possible. If I have the option, I would rather buy fruit from Florida than, say, Mexico or somewhere else. I feel like the closer you are to your home, the fresher it's going to be, the less preservatives needed to keep the food fresh and ready to eat.” - Mari, 24, TN

Local is important to their health, but the definition of “local” and its specific impact on health varies

“I don’t like buying stuff that is from too far away or from somewhere that doesn’t specialize in what they’re making.” - Krista, 28, MA

Local is important to their health, but the definition of “local” and its specific impact on health varies

“I’m not necessarily a health guru. I eat junk food mainly, but origins do impact my behavior. I don’t eat food coming from overseas because it’s been linked with disease.” - Douglas, 20, NC

Local is important to their health, but the definition of “local” and its specific impact on health varies

• Some Millennials see “big food brands” and ”big box” retailers as the enemy of “the local”

• Millennials recognize that buying local comes at a premium, but are willing to pay it, up to a point

• Even those in higher household income brackets displayed price sensitivity

Millennials feel good that their individual purchases help their local economy but recognize there is a cost

“I try to always support the local community to help them rise up. My parents try to, too, but they will honestly eat anything!” - Kayla, 25, OR

Millennials feel good that their individual purchases help their local economy but recognize there is a cost

“If I see something is local, I find that to be a good thing, but I would not pay more money for that to be the case.” - Evan, 25, NY

Millennials feel good that their individual purchases help their local economy but recognize there is a cost

“I generally, wouldn't buy something that's overpriced at a farmer’s market, either. But, if it costs not too much more then I wouldn't mind spending a little extra money on it.” - Simon, 25, CA

Millennials feel good that their individual purchases help their local economy but recognize there is a cost

• Millennials express they are more concerned about their “eco-footprint” than their parents

• Emphasize that eating local food helps the environment; it requires less energy to produce and is usually sustainably grown

Buying local allows Millennials to feel they are helping the environment

“The origins of food have a very large impact on my purchasing decisions. I am very focused on trying to keep a small ecological footprint.” - Daniel, 23, MT

Buying local allows Millennials to feel they are helping the environment

“I like to go to local producers, farmers markets for my fruit and I wouldn't mind getting organic meats as well like chicken and beef. I feel like it will help the environment. There's a lot of damaging aspects to the big corporate game when you consider what's happening to our environment, like mass production of methane and too much corn being produced.” - Simon, 25, CA

Buying local allows Millennials to feel they are helping the environment

Although “local” is often defined differently among Millennials, it impacts their buying behavior

Local purchases enable Millennials to feel they are having a positive impact on their health, their local economy, and the environment

“I believe that purchasing items that are more local from Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are a bit healthier because I know where [the food] traces back to and I also know that there aren’t going to be any kind of by-products or chemicals that I wouldn’t want to have as my daily intake.” - Ashley, 25, GA

“Buying local” enables Millennials to feel a strong positive impact on health, local economy, and environment

“I like to support the local farmers in the area…I feel like the farmers have a higher standard than the stores do because the grocery stores sometimes put out food that is not acceptable.” - Heather, 28, NY

“Buying local” enables Millennials to feel a strong positive impact on health, local economy, and environment

“I think it’s important that we know where our food comes from. So much of the food that we buy in the grocery stores, we have no idea where it was manufactured, processed or anything.” - Zachary, 24, CA

“Buying local” enables Millennials to feel a strong positive impact on health, local economy, and environment

Millennials feel they are carving out their own approach to selecting and purchasing foods in a very different manner than their parents’ generation

Although the definition of “local foods” is not consistent across the segment, Millennials feel their consistent “buying local” behaviors have far-reaching impacts

These impacts go beyond just their individual health; Millennials feel their purchases ultimately affect their local economies and the environment

Their comments reveal an anti-big-brand/anti-big-box sentiment of which traditional retailers should be keenly aware

Conclusions & Implications

Conclusions & Implications

While Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s were often mentioned as preferred, trusted sources, Walmart’s 2013 advertised local farmers program had no traction with the Millennials included in this study

Traditional food retailers have the opportunity to improve on the implementation and execution of local sourcing for a more relevant relationship with Millennials

Given Millennials’ economic realities, retailers must be aware of price sensitivities when it comes to the premium pricing of locally sourced foods

About MindSwarms

MindSwarms gathers video feedback from consumers via smartphone/tablet (and webcam) all over the world. Fast.

Consumers are screened first, then qualified respondents are invited to record their responses (asynchronously). Consumers are paid for participating.

Responses to the study questions are viewable and shareable online, and can be downloaded in Quicktime format for inclusion in presentations or to create curated videos.

Learn more at MindSwarms.com or blog.mindswarms.com.

Click here to watch “The Power of Local Food” video.

About MindSwarms

Thank You

Photo Attribution!!Page 2 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Healthy Red Tomatoes are Wet and Organic by epSos .de !Page 3 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Tasty Food Abundance in Healthy Europe by epSos .de !Page 4 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Millennials Jam Workshop: Youth and ICTs beyond 2015 by itupictures !Page 5 CC-licensed Flickr Photo FOOD by Wolfgang Wildner by Wolfgang Wildner !Page 6 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Food by NatalieMaynor CC-licensed Flickr Photo Fall Line Farms; cooperative, co-op; Richmond, VA. by USDAgov !Page 7 CC-licensed Flickr Photo farmer’s market by ** RCB ** !Page 11 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Dining on Marietta Square by City of Marietta, GA !Page 12 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Boston Local Food Festival by cherrylet !Page 16 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Boy "Axel" and Girl "Tyra" Exhibit by mikebaird !Page 21 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Green World by kudumomo !Page 24 CC-licensed Flickr Photo Produce by hyku !Page 25 CC-licensed Flickr Photo It's about time to help others... by theleticiabertin !!!