Food Job Blog: The inside track on Food Recruitment and Careers

According to the latest research by food and grocery analyst IGD, the consumers of the future will be demanding food with ethical credentials.

Results

The IGD survey shows that almost half (49 per cent) of consumers are expecting to buy more ethical food in the future, with locally-sourced produce being a top priority for 35 per cent of all those asked. Also of concern are issues such as animal welfare (24 per cent), Fairtrade (24 per cent) and organic food (21 per cent).

IGD surveyed 2,700 shoppers from France, Great Britain, Germany and Spain throughout summer 2010. The following is the percentage of people who expect to buy produce on the basis of each ethical concern in the future:

Locally-sourced food

• Britain - 38 per cent
• France - 35 per cent
• Germany - 30 per cent
• Spain - 15 per cent

High animal welfare standards

• Britain - 28 per cent
• France - 30 per cent
• Germany - 8 per cent
• Spain - 10 per cent

Fairtrade products

• Britain - 31 per cent
• France - 24 per cent
• Germany - 10 per cent
• Spain - 7 per cent

Organic products

• Britain - 9 per cent
• France - 20 per cent
• Germany - 18 per cent
• Spain - 7 per cent

The CEO of IGD, Joanne Denney-Finch, commented on what the results of the survey mean for international food jobs, saying:

"The good news is that shoppers expect to buy more across all categories of ethical food and drink products in the future. For grocery businesses across Europe this presents a big challenge and a huge opportunity."