The Rural Voice, 2000-10, Page 18Approaching
food trends:
Who's pushing
and who's pulling?
The aging demographic
of the Baby -boomers will
change the food
industry. Are we
prepared for the
opportunities'?
By Ralph Pearce
As they get older, people eat less
and they eat better ... they are
aware of their own mortality and
thus more likely to consider the
health implications of whar they eat
... these inevitable repercussions of
aging have a profound significance
for Canada's $82.0 billion -a -year
food industry.
David K. Foot, Boom, Bust &
Echo, pg 89
n the next nine to 11 years, the
largest segment of Canada's
population is going to reach age
50, a time when purchasing decisions
will be made based more on -the
luxury of available income and less
on the need to pinch pennies.
At a time when Ontario producers
are reeling from the combined
impacts of low commodity prices and
the third wettest summer on record, it
may be hard to accept the fact that
consumers have the money to spend
on exotic foods. And yet producers
across the province must at least
consider a move to"answer that
projected demand; for many it could
be a means of survival.
If Foot's contention becomes a
reality -- that unique foods and new
taste sensations will become a fixture
in Canadian culture — those in the
agri-food industry must become
increasingly observant, differenti-
ating between trends and novelties
In a relatively short time span —
within the past two decades — the
agri-food industry has come to a
curious stage in its evolution, where
science and technology can provide
14 THE RURAL VOICE
products almost bet ore markets or
demand for those products are
established. Such has been the case
with marketing Roundup Ready
soybeans or molecular farming; the
industry heard about them long
before they arrived. So timing has
become more critical — and not just
for retailers or processors and their
public relations divisions —.but for
everyone within the food sector.
In addition to these innovations,
there is the increasing development
of outside market influences. China's
entrance into the World. Trade
Organization has filled U.S.
manufacturers and processors with
visions of a billion -plus people
aching for the bevy of U.S.-made
products (and whether that becomes a
reality remains to be seen). Brazil
and Argentina have risen to world
leader status in the export of
soybeans. And the European Union
has increased its protectionist
policies (or its determination to
remain self-sufficient, depending on
a person's point of view).
The picture of farming has been
radically altered. And somewhere in
the confusion is the producer, the
recipient of mixed messages and
conflicting views from across the
industry. Expand, diversify, move
out of commodities, move into
alternatives.
Peter Ozols, Pilot Plant Manager
at the Guelph Food Technology
Centre, agrees there's a "push-pull"
scenario at play with Ontario's agri-
food sector and particularly with
producers. And with the wealth of
Boby-boomers are adventurous
and ready to try new tastes, even
if the products cost more.
new ideas and alternative crops,
there's a tendency within the industry
to look beyond the horizon. The
problem is, some tend to dream first
and plan later.
"Speculation, applications are
very fertile grounds for imaginative
creators of technology in the food
industry," says Ozols, pointing to
G.P.S. technology as one example of
product promotion without
necessarily considering market
demand. Five years ago when the
technology was being promoted,
dealers told producers of its potential
and touted a "must -have" mind -set
that never really materialized beyond
the use of yield monitors.
"There are technologies out there
that may be ahead of their
commercial time," admits Ozols.
"But if you are coming to the future,
you have to pace your investment to
the market needs — you can't be so
far ahead that you're going to step
into a vacuum."
A perfect example of one of those
products that practically rocketed
into peoples' homes and lives,
virtually without promotion, is the
personal computer. That product,
says Ozols, required little market
development before its widespread
acceptance and adoption.
Nevertheless, planning becomes
paramount to mapping out new
ventures; it's part of Ozols'
professional code of conduct working