Dive Brief:
- Food evangelists now account for about 14% of the U.S. population. They are a steadily growing group and are raising their children, the next generation of consumers, with their beliefs about food, according to Ketchum's recently released Food 2020 report.
- These consumers are concerned with "where and how food is grown, packaged and labeled, and how the company behind a given product or brand treats the environment and its employees," according to Food Business News.
- Food evangelists are "valuable opinion leaders" and manufacturers should move them "out of the critic column and into the critically important column," Linda Eatherton, partner and managing director of the global food and beverage practice at Ketchum, told Food Business News.
Dive Insight:
Food evangelists are shifting from niche to "the new normal," as the group grew 27% from two years ago, the report said. It's a trend manufacturers can't ignore.
Eatherton described the current scenario as a corporate responsibility behavior wherein manufacturers take it upon themselves to educate younger consumers about the food supply and how the food system works. Education initiatives are vital to the future of major manufacturers in this sea change of consumer preferences. Such initiatives enable companies to control the conversation about products and promote brand features of interest to consumers.
Engaging with food evangelists won't happen through traditional marketing channels, because this group has tuned out these messages in favor of a variety of other information sources, such as social media and blogs, Eatherton said. This is an opportunity for manufacturers to meet consumers where they gather information for purchasing decisions, build relationships, and deliver messages tailored for food evangelists.
Eatherton also theorized that consumers' growing preference for local foods is "less about miles and more about familiarity." Manufacturers that promote transparency and share information with consumers about the ins and outs of their company and products win out here.