Kent Business School has been commissioned by the Fresh Produce Consortium and the Fresh Produce Journal to carry out research into the market opportunities for organic fruit and vegetables, the results of which will be presented at the Re:fresh Conference on May 8.
We have already completed a survey of consumers. This questionnaire is designed to elicit information from the trade, which we can compare against the findings from the consumer research, in order to identify key issues for discussion at the conference and beyond.
The questionnaire has been designed for ease of completion and should take no more than five minutes of your time. All responses will be treated in confidence and the results will only be reported in aggregate.
In order that our findings are as representative and meaningful as possible, it is important that we capture information and opinions from as many produce suppliers (importers, packers, distributors) as possible. Please complete the questionnaire by Wednesday April 16, in order to qualify for our prize draw, the winner of which will receive £100.
How often do you sit around a dinner table and listen to friends or family telling the world that they eat organic fruit and vegetables because “they don’t use pesticides” or “they just taste better”? Isn’t it about time that this industry was able to provide the consumer with a more informed view on fresh produce in general, to allow them to make their consumption choices with a fuller understanding of the benefits of both organic and conventionally grown products? The Re:fresh Partnership thinks so.
Whether your business is involved or organics or not, the Re:fresh Conference will provide you with an invaluable insight into the UK fruit and vegetable industry.
The conference theme is Moving the Organic Goalposts, but it is the conference itself that intends to move those goalposts, along with participants that hopefully will include you and your colleagues.
The first results from our groundbreaking UK consumer survey on consumer perceptions of organics versus conventional fruit and vegetables are now being fed back to us by the dunnhumby Academy of Consumer Research. They make for fascinating reading and will be presented and discussed in depth at the Re:fresh Conference next month.
The event will create a greater understanding of the differences between organic and conventional products, and consequently bring some much needed balance and context to the one-sided debate that has led to two per cent of the fresh produce industry receiving significantly more positive media and public recognition than the 98 per cent that represents the very core of most of your businesses.Consumers at a recent focus group we commissioned guesstimated that between 15 and 50 per cent of the fresh produce on supermarket shelves is organic? That is an amazing misconception, which perfectly illustrates the power and precision of the organic lobby and its messages.
Conventional produce has chosen not to lobby and as such has rarely responded to the pesticide claims of organic drum beating.
Does it need to respond, or are we happy to continue to live with widely held consumer conceptions that conventional fruit and veg is routinely sprayed with dangerous chemicals, harmful to the environment and less tasty than its organic counterparts.
The trade now has its opportunity to respond.
Our study will this week move on to ask you about your perspectives on organics and what you believe consumers think, and why they make their organic / conventional purchasing decisions. You will receive a questionnaire, which will take around five minutes to complete - we would really appreciate your co-operation.
We will then put the trade’s views together with those of its customers, the consumers, and present those findings at the conference in such a way that all delegates will leave armed with an understanding of the issue that can be used to benefit the entire industry, and encourage greater co-operation between the organic and conventional sectors for the greater good of fruit and vegetables.
TO SEE THE FULL PROGRAMME AND BOOK YOUR PLACE AT THE CONFERENCE, AND AT THE RE;FRESH AWARDS THAT IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWS IT, PLEASE GO TO WWW.REFRESH.EU/REGISTER
