consumer insights on trust-building transparency · consumer insights on trust-building...

Consumer Insights on Trust-Building Transparency

J.J. Jones

jj.jones@foodintegrity.org

28 January 2016

TO EARN CONSUMER TRUST IN TODAY’S FOOD SYSTEM

CFI strives to:

Be a Leading Voice in a Balanced Public Conversation about Food

Align the Culture of Today’s Food System

Convene, Empower and Support Food System Stakeholders

The Center for Food Integrity

Social/Consumer Decision Making

Consumers are

asking more

questions about food

No Trust

Complete Trust

Schwartz-Grant Inverted-U

Today’s consumers Shifting societal attitudes

Many choices, Many voices

Mistrust in farming and food

Desire to know/trust farmers

Historical Perspective: Decline of Trust

THEN NOW

Authority is granted primarily by office

Broad social consensus driven by WASP males

Communication is formal, indirect (mass

communication)

Progress is inevitable

“Big” is respected

Authority is granted primarily by relationship

No single social consensus, great diversity, many voices

Communication is informal, direct (masses of communicators)

Progress is possible

“Big” is bad

Consolidated, Integrated, Industrialized

What’s Your Communication Goal?

PERSUADE

EDUCATE

Our Goals Should Be...

Embrace the skepticism

Consumer concerns are real Perception is their reality

Share your values

Building trusts requires a new approach

CFI Trust Model

VALUE

SIMILARITY

CONFIDENCE

COMPETENCE

INFLUENTIAL

OTHERS

TRUST

SOCIAL

LICENSE

FREEDOM

TO

OPERATE

Trust research

was published

in the

December 2009

Journal of Rural Sociology

Shared values are 3-5x more important in

building trust than sharing facts or

demonstrating technical skills/expertise

What Drives Consumer Trust?

TRUST

“No one cares how much you know,

until they know how much you care.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Leading from the heart led Plum Organics to

the top

Food Navigator

Elizabeth Crawford

“The secret to Plum

Organics’ rapid ascent to

the top of the organic

baby, toddler and

children’s food industry is its

deeply engrained

philosophy to ’lead with the

heart.”

Neil Grammer, CEO

Food is necessary

traditional

personal

Thank You 2015 Research Sponsors

National Sponsors

Additional Sponsors

Thank You 2015 Research Sponsors

State Sponsors

Trust Motivation

Bias

Shared

Values

Foundation to Building Trust

Transparency

Effective Mechanism for Overcoming Motivation Bias

Role of Transparency in Promoting Trust

Moms Only 15%

Millenials Only 12%

None Segment: Not Moms, Not Millenials, Not Foodies

43%

Foodies Only 8%

Moms and Millennials 8% Moms and Foodies

5%

Millennials and Foodies 6%

Moms, Millennials and Foodies

3%

Segments Overlap; Just Under Half Not Classified

Share nutrition info (9.03)

Main Foodie Behaviors

Foodies General Population

Seek out info on ingredients used in food eaten (9.23)

Seek out info on ingredients used in food eaten (6.39)

Share info about cooking (9.17)

Share info about cooking (6.26)

Share info about food safety (9.11)

Share recipes with others (6.35)

Share nutrition info (5.84)

Seek out info about how food processing affects food safety (9.00)

Share recipes with others (9.14)

Women were more concerned

about most issues than men

Additional Food System Concerns*

• Food Safety (62%)

• Enough to Feed U.S. (53%)

• Humane Treatment of Farm Animals (47%)

Lowest concern was for having enough food to feed people outside the U.S. (31%)

All of the Most Concerning Life Issues are Beyond the Consumer’s Direct Control

1. Keeping Healthy Food Affordable

2. Rising Cost of Food

3. Rising Health Care Costs

4. U.S. Economy

5. Rising Energy Costs

1. Rising Cost of Food

2. Rising Health Care Costs

3. Keeping Healthy Food Affordable

4. U.S. Economy

5. Rising Energy Costs

Top Concerns About Issues by Segment

Moms

Millennials

1. Keeping Healthy Food Affordable

2. Rising Health Care Costs

3. Rising Cost of Food

4. U.S. Economy

5. Rising Energy Costs

Top Concerns About Issues by Segment

Foodies

1. Rising Cost of Food

2. Rising Health Care Costs

3. Keeping Healthy Food Affordable

4. U.S. Economy

5. Rising Energy Costs

Early Adopter

Right Direction/Wrong Track

2013 2014 2015 Right Direction

34% 42% 40%

Wrong Track 38% 30% 27%

Unsure 28% 27% 33%

Right Direction/Wrong Track 2014/2015

Early Adopters 36% / 33% believe the

food system is on the wrong

track

48% / 49% Right

Direction

32% / 31% Wrong Track

Right Direction/Wrong Track 2014/2015

Right/Wrong Moms Millennials Foodies

Right Direction

36% / 31% 41% / 41% 49% / 50%

Wrong Track

35% / 32% 33% / 26% 35% / 30%

Unsure 29% / 37% 26% / 33% 16% / 20%

Consumers Search Online and Watch Local TV for Info for Food System Issues

Ranked First as Info Source on Food System Issues

Web Sites 21%

Local TV Station

15%

Friends-Not

Online

13%

Family-Not

Online 13%

Google

10%

Trust-Building Transparency

2015 Consumer Trust Research

Transparency Modeling

Company Trust

Global Transparency in

Topic

Policies Illustrative

Policies

Practices Illustrative Practices

Performance

Verification Illustrative Verification

Trust Motivation

Bias

Shared

Values

Foundation to Building Trust

Transparency

Effective Mechanism for Overcoming Motivation Bias

Role of Transparency in Promoting Trust

Company Trust

Global Transparency in

Topic

Policies Illustrative

Policies

Practices Illustrative Practices

Performance

Verification Illustrative Verification

Transparency Model Per Topical Area

SIX TOPICS of Global Transparency: • IMPACT OF PRODUCTS ON HEALTH • FOOD SAFETY • IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT • HUMAN/LABOR RIGHTS • TREATMENT OF ANIMAL RAISED FOR FOOD • BUSINESS ETHICS IN FOOD PRODUCTION

Impact of Policies, Practices, Performance and Verification on Global Transparency

41

Performance

Global Transparency

in Food on Safety

Practices

Policies

Verification

Practices

Global Transparency in Impact of Food

on Health

Performance

Policies

Verification

Verification

Global Transparency Impact on the Environment

Practices

Policies

Performance

Performance

Global Transparency

in Labor/ Human Rights

Practices

Policies

Verification

Policies

Global Transparency

in Tx of Animals

Practices

Performance

Verification

Performance

Global Transparency in Business

Ethics

Practices

Policies

Verification

Practices were most predictive of Global Transparency in 5 out of 6 topical areas

• Policy – Is what I’m supposed to do • Performance – My track record tells you what I did • Verification – Is someone else validating my

performance (table stakes for food safety and animal well-being)

• Practices – Are what I do. They are my values in

action and a concrete way for me to illustrate my motives are aligned with yours

Aligning The Models

Consumers Primarily Hold Food Companies Responsible for Transparency

0% 50% 100%

42

49

40

38

37

41

27

30

32

37

28

28

16

11

15

13

17

16

15

10

14

12

17

15

Food Companies Farmers Grocery Stores Restaurants

Impact of Food Products on Health

(n=2001)

Food Safety

Impact of Food Production on the Environment

Labor and Human Rights

Treatment of Animals Raised for Food

Business Ethics in Food Production

Recommended Best Practices for Impact on the Environment

Predictive Practices for Impact on the Environment

Provides information about any impacts of food packaging on the environment, on the company website

Provides information on any corrective actions taken on violations of environmental regulations on the company website

Provides information about the disposal of the chemicals used in their food production, including sanitizers, refrigerants and petroleum products, on the company website

Provides a way to ask questions about the company’s environmental stewardship on its website

Responds to consumer inquiries about the company’s environmental stewardship in easy to understand language

Recommended Best Practices of Transparency in Labor and Human Rights Predictive Practices for Labor and Human Rights

Provides information about working conditions of laborers, who work to provide products or ingredients for the company, on the company web site

Provides a way to ask questions about the company’s labor and human rights practices on its website

Provides labor and human rights information through the company website

Provides information about the company’s relationship with the community in which food is produced, on the company website

Responds to consumer inquiries about the company’s labor and human rights practices in easy to understand language

Provides labor and human rights information through a QR code on the product package, which can be accessed through your smart phone

Recommended Best Practices of Transparency in the Treatment of Animals Raised for Food

Predictive Practices for Treatment of Animals Raised for Food

Provides information on how animals are raised through the website

Provides a way to ask questions about the treatment of animals raised for food for the company, on its website

Responds to consumer inquiries about the treatment of animals raised for food for the company in easy to understand language

Provides information on animal care through the website

Provides online videos showing how animals are raised, on the company website

Provides information on animal care through a QR code on the product package, which can be accessed through your smart phone

• Transparency is the key to overcoming the “Big is Bad” bias. It is no longer optional – it is a basic consumer expectation.

• Consumers want information on company practices – practices are an illustration of values in action and values drive trust.

• Consumers want the ability to engage. They want to be heard and acknowledged and they want straight answers to their questions.

Trust-Building Transparency Takeaways

Tracking Attitudes Toward the U. S. Food Supply Over Time

2014

2015

5%

6%

41%

35%

55%

60%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 7.60 2014 Mean = 7.46

7.68

7.41

7.08

7.29

7.20

7.14

7.28

7.46

7.60

7.00

7.25

7.50

7.75

8.00

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“If farm animals are treated decently and humanely, I have no problem consuming meat, milk and eggs.”

2014

2015

20%

19%

56%

57%

24%

25%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 5.58 2014 Mean = 5.54

5.02

4.80

5.50

5.89

5.38

5.24

5.58

5.54

5.58

4.30

4.80

5.30

5.80

6.30

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“U.S. meat is derived from humanely treated animals.”

2014

2015

7%

7%

41%

40%

53%

53%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 7.35 2014 Mean = 7.32

6.91

6.81

7.22

6.72 6.70

7.31 7.32 7.35

6.50

6.75

7.00

7.25

7.50

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“I would support a law in my state to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals.”

2014

2015

32%

41%

46%

41%

22%

19%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 4.41 2014 Mean = 4.86

4.23

4.03

4.47

4.86

4.41

4.00

4.25

4.50

4.75

5.00

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“The U.S. has a responsibility to provide food for the rest of the world.”

2014

2015

17%

22%

53%

50%

30%

28%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 5.60 2014 Mean = 5.98

5.60 5.67

5.98

5.60

5.00

5.50

6.00

6.50

2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“Family farms are likely to put their interests ahead of my interests.”

2014

2015

6%

6%

45%

43%

50%

50%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 7.22 2014 Mean = 7.19

6.86

7.20 7.19

7.22

6.85

7.10

7.35

7.60

2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“Commercial farms are likely to put their interests ahead of my interests.”

2014

2015

11%

13%

47%

48%

41%

39%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 6.50 2014 Mean = 6.57 6.13

5.88

5.85

5.73

6.11

6.22

6.44

6.57

6.50

5.50

6.00

6.50

7.00

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“Food grown organically is more healthful than conventionally grown food.”

2014

2015

8%

10%

47%

45%

45%

45%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 6.81 2014 Mean = 6.90

6.91 6.90

6.81

6.50

6.75

7.00

7.25

2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“I am more concerned about healthy eating than I was a year ago.”

2014

2015

3%

3%

49%

51%

47%

46%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 7.22 2014 Mean = 7.15

7.03

7.15

7.22

7.00

7.25

7.50

7.75

2013 2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“I feel confident about the food choices I make for my family.”

2014

2015

17%

18%

55%

56%

28%

25%

Two Year Tracking Comparison

0 to 3 4 to 7 8 to 10

2015 Mean = 5.70 2014 Mean = 5.84

5.84

5.70

5.50

5.75

6.00

6.25

2014 2015

Yearly Mean Tracking

“I trust today’s food system.”

Consumer Insights on Trust-Building Transparency

J.J. Jones

jj.jones@foodintegrity.org

28 January 2016