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Food consumption and consumers - Who, what, where and why?

Consumers are the ultimate driver for food businesses and the food industry. Knowing what consumers want, how they want to buy, prepare and consume food, what features are important to them and what characteristics they are willing to pay for, can provide valuable insights into meeting consumer expectations and growing a food business.

Understanding consumers may seem straight forward, they are all around us, and we are all consumers ourselves! Being close to your own product or industry can provide you with an understanding or insight that consumers don’t share, but a consumer’s perspective can often be quite different to yours.

This report aims to give an overview of the issues that are shaping consumer trends and may bring opportunities for differentiation and growth in the marketplace. Consumer trends are constantly changing, which can quickly date specific information. To this end, the report also seeks to outline available sources of information, resources and techniques that are available to obtain and understand consumer information.

The report is structured in two parts. The first looks at consumers and markets. Who are consumers, where do they live, what do they buy and where does it come from. The focus is on Australian consumers but some comparison is also made with key export markets where a substantial proportion of South Australian food is ultimately sold.

The second part of the report looks at some of the decisions consumers make when selecting food products. Product characteristics including price, flavour, convenience and health are considered along with emerging trends for consumer interest in the credibility of their food (natural, ethical and provenance). Examples of how these characteristics have been important in different food segments are included, along with techniques and further information for better understanding consumers. Food segment ‘Snapshots’ are included that highlight product growth which reflect larger market trends.

Publications

Food consumption and consumers - Who, what, where and why? (pdf, 3.33mb)
Case Study - Tucker's Natural (pdf, 155kb)