Behavior May Reveal Otherwise

By Jim Prevor, Editor-in-Chief, Produce Business

Sometimes reading consumer surveys on country-of-origin labeling is enlightening, principally because of what it tells us about the limitations of consumer surveys.

We can applaud PMA for taking on the thankless task of trying to get meaningful answers from consumers on this subject. It is not easy. When, as Bryan explains, almost seven in 10 consumers claim they “are aware of where their produce comes from at least some of the time,” we don’t know whether that means they have actively sought that knowledge or happened to see some signage. We don’t know if they remember once seeing a sign or if they are typically aware of where their produce comes from.

A reader is also left scratching his head at how it could be possible more than three out of 10 consumers are never — not even some of the time — aware of where their produce comes from? Have these people never seen an Idaho potato? Never once noted a sign or label? Not once saw a “locally grown” promotion? It is hard to imagine this could be true.

The PMA study finds a majority — fully 51 percent — assigns the “highest importance” to where their produce comes from, yet only 20 percent of consumers actually claim to know the origin of their produce all the time. So whatever “highest importance” might mean, it doesn’t mean these consumers won’t buy produce if the information isn’t available. This, of course, raises the question of whether this information really means anything at all to most consumers.

Consumer confusion on this matter is evidenced by the fact that when asked precisely why they might want to know about the country of origin of produce, nothing seemed a particularly significant concern. The biggest specific reason given — “general interest” at 14 percent, which seems likely to be a catchall for people who feel they “should” want to know this but can’t actually think of a reason why.

Even claims that a third of consumers are looking to avoid purchases from China seem odd — after all, there is scarcely any Chinese fresh produce sold in US supermarkets.

Ahh, there is at least one area with a large majority — 68 percent of consumers prefer the US produce and 13 percent want locally grown. This seems overwhelming, yet even here, how do we square this information with Bryan’s report that only 21 percent of consumers say they won’t buy the item if US produce is not available? This seems like a weak preference for US product — especially because no supermarket has ever reported sales dropping 21 percent because it shifts to imported product.

This is a classic example of the kind of question that consumers feel they should care about and have an opinion on but rarely do. Sure, if you shove a microphone in someone’s face, you get answers — but you don’t get the truth.

Because few consumers ever want to say they prefer to be ignorant.

Certainly, once in a while, consumers care about country of origin. If the newspapers are filled with stories of poisoned food from China, they may shy away.

If they see food imported from their ancestral homeland, they may want to buy it. If there is a special promotion — locally grown, Caribbean fun days, Cinco de Mayo — they may like the authenticity of buying those products from those places.

Day to day, though, consumers really don’t care. This is not surprising. They buy imported cars and electronics, almost all clothing is imported, they fly on Airbus jets, they eat imported canned and frozen foods — what would make us think that they will make a stand against imports in the fresh produce department?

If they are presented with a choice, consumers may even have preferences for one country over another.

None of this, though, is significant enough to have any long-term noticeable effect on sales. In fact, as Bryan points out, we already have quite a bit of produce in the stores identified by production source.

So why are we moving to country-of-origin labeling? The power of an odd coalition of self-professed consumer advocates and US farmers, who mistakenly think this will make a difference in their sales, got it into the law.

Produce Business just completed some focus groups in the United Kingdom where country-of-origin labeling is on every produce item and virtually every produce item is packaged. The packaging typically includes not only the name of the country of origin but also the flag of the country of origin. Despite all this, many consumers in our focus groups were shocked to learn the information was available — so little attention did they pay to the information.

We are likely headed for the same result in the United States — a lot of work and trouble for an audience that simply doesn’t care. Sadly, the hope that country-of-origin labeling may make a difference might be causing some growers to hold off on the kind of innovation and marketing that is really necessary to boost their sales and profits.