A new survey of food symbols and endorsements found on many products in supermarkets and other retailers paints a grim picture for the organic campaign.
The survey asked consumers to indicate if they recognised a list of 13 symbols found on food products, and which symbols they ‘actively looked for’ when out shopping, with the results then compared with a previous poll from 2008.
The Soil Association symbol – belonging to the leading charity behind the organic movement in the UK – has seen recognition levels fall from 40 per cent observed in December 2008, to 33 per cent in the latest poll.
As a point of reference, the Rainforest Alliance commanded 47 per cent claimed recognition, the Fairtrade symbol 89 per cent, the Lion Quality mark, as found on eggs, achieved 76 per cent, and the Recycling symbol 72 per cent.
The fastest riser in the MMR Research Worldwide survey, jumping 13 per cent in recognition, was the Red Tractor brand with 65 per cent.
While 36 per cent of shoppers look for Fairtrade, 31 per cent look for Red Tractor and 28 per cent look for Lion Quality-marked products, only 10 per cent of the sample claimed to seek out the Soil Association symbol when shopping.
The survey by MMR, which describes itself as a food and drink research specialist, also claims to have found that only 29 per cent of people believe they could confidently relay what organic means to a friend, although a further 47 per cent indicated that they could relay something, albeit with less confidence.
The research involved 285 UK shoppers aged between 16 and 74 in July, lowering awareness and shopper confusion surrounding organic can be remedied with simpler messaging.
Andy Wardlaw, insight director at MMR Research Worldwide, said: “Our figures show that the Soil Association has taken a bit of a knock in recent years, particularly among younger people.
“It may come as a surprise not only that organic is in the bottom half of food symbols recognised by 16 to 34-year-olds, but that it performs so poorly compared to the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade symbols.
“Further probing in our research indicated that simple information about organic could have a positive impact on the way consumers feel about organic produce. We suspect that people think they know what it means but when it comes to the crunch, there is very little to draw on. Nearly three quarters of people said they would feel more positive with messaging linked to 'no harmful pesticides', 'works with nature', 'animals reared humanly' or 'no artificial fertilisers'.'
The Soil Association will be hoping to boost exposure of organic products during Organic September.
