The Rural Voice, 2000-03, Page 23products right back through the food
chain.
People in Europe are very worried
about GMOs, animal welfare, the
environment and food safety, and
organic produce is becoming an
important niche market. But
European consumers also want
something North Americans want:
convenience. Some European
supermarkets are putting together
whole meal packages, with all
ingredients for a meal included.
Customer satisfaction was also
the topic for Anita Ivanauskas,
marketing and public relations
manager with Quality Meat Packers.
Looking back over 50 years, she said,
manufacturers dictated what
consumers would be buying from
retailers for the first 30 years and
retailers have dominated for the last
20 years. However "the future
catalyst will be the consumer", she
said.
Whether primary producer,
processor or retailer, "What we're all
ultimately selling is shopper
satisfaction," Ivanauskas said.
It's a dynamic and exciting time
in the food and meat industry, she
said with several distinct consumer
groups. The mature and senior group,
those born prior to 1947, who make
up 25 per cent of the population,
have high disposable income and are
worried about health issues.
The "baby -boom" generation,
born between 1947 and 1966 also
makes up 25 per cent of the
population and is driving the food
market. Convenient, quickly prepared
foods are important because 73 per
cent. of mothers are working. This is
also a health and nutrition conscious
group.
The "baby bust" generation, born
between 1967 and 1980 will also
require convenient and easily -
prepared foods because many people
in this age group have no cooking
skills, Ivanauskas said.
Finally the "baby boom echo"
generation, sons and daughters of the
baby -boomers, born after 1980, are
not yet consumers themselves but
have a tremendous input into the
buying decisions of their parents.
The other big impact in the food
market is the growing ethnic
population. By 2005 the oriental
population in the greater Toronto
area will reach 400,000. Ethnic
diversity is also adding new tastes to
the diets of long-time Canadians.
For all consumers, the demand is
for freshness, quality and taste in
their foods.
There are contradictory trends in
the food business because at the same
time as people want convenient,
quickly -prepared foods, there is also
an increased interest in food and
cooking that leads to extremes in the
trends, Ivanauskas says. People may
not spend a lot of time in the kitchen
for every meal, but on special
occasions they want to create
gourmet meals. Likewise, while
they're concerned with leanness due
to their health consciousness, at times
they want to indulge in high fat. rich
tasting foods from rich ice creams to
well -marbled beef.
The industry response to' these
trends, Ivanauskas says, includes
creation of speedy "scratch" foods
for assembly -line cooking —
products that give the impression of
home -cooked meals. People are
buying freshly -made pasta in stores.
Quality' Packers has created a
marinated pork that requires only
cooking.
The industry is trying to meet
consumers' health concerns with low
fat, nutritious foods — low fat ice
cream, lean pork.
At the same time the food industry
•is trying to cater to consumers' desire
to indulge now and then with rich,
gourmet ice cream and frozen
desserts. In pork, there's a demand
for smoked sausage.
The industry is responding to the
market with innovative packaging.
Ivanauskas says. Packaging must be
eye-catching and generally people
are looking for smaller portions.
There will be more individual
packaging (like cheese slices) where
one portion of the package of food
can be used and the rest stored away
in the freezer.
There will be more information on
the packages. Quality Packers is
already putting more nutritional
information on its packages,
Ivanauskas said. There will likely be
more cooking instructions in future
as retailers try to help customers who
have less experience cooking.
The latest phase of the evolution
of food marketing is "home meal
replacements". Ivanauskas said.
Learning from the pizza business,
supermarkets are trying to make it
simple for people to pick up an entire
meal on the way home from work.
You can. for instance. pick up a fully
cooked chicken to take home.
Shoppers will be able to get their
food in more ways from big
department stores like Wal-Mart to
on-line grocery shopping to
convenience stores and gas stations.
With companies like Wal-Mart
moving into selling groceries. many
people are starting to question the
move of supermarkets away from
personalized special services like in-
store butchers.
People will be shopping seven
days a week. 24 hours a day.
Ivanauskas said. "Food has become
an experience, an indulgence and a
hobby."
While consumers in Europe have
reacted against genetically altered
foods and those surveyed here had
expressed concern, Gord Surgeoner,
president of Ontario Agri -Food
:Technologies dismissed the issue.
Consumers say things in polls then
do different things in the
supermarket. he said. Consumers in
the U.S., for instance, said they
wouldn't drink milk produced by
cows created with rBST hormones.
but milk consumption hasn't been
affected despite the fact the hormone
is widely used.
Canadian consumers generally
have a good opinion of pork
producers and the industry must
build on that strength, said Sam
Bradshaw, Environmental
Communications Specialist with
Ontario Pork.
Ontario Pork, along•with the
Canadian Pork Council
commissioned a poll to determine
public attitudes toward pork
production and generally, the news
MARCH 2000 21