Consumers will place more importance on the producer in the future in their search for authenticity in the fresh produce they buy, according to Anneke Ammerlaan of Ammerlaan Tastes & Trends.
Trend analyst Ammerlaan shared her visions of future fresh produce and tomato consumption with delegates at Syngenta’s 2008 Tomato Conference in Noordwijkerhout, the Netherlands, last week.
“This is a reaction from the industrial revolution, when technology was our main drive. Now fresh produce has to be available for all, but now we have lost that quality and consumers will want to get it back,” she said. “Consumers will want to combine the best from the past with the knowledge of the future.
“In the UK, local produce is causing a lot of excitement, and consumers are finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. But the trend of authenticity will go further than this, and it will all be centred round producers and the varieties they grow well in certain areas. It is all about VIPs - the very important producers.”
According to Ammerlaan, right, consumers feel socially responsible and are looking for authenticity in terms of honest, healthy and sustainable food.
She went on to say: “The goal is to get the best sustainable produce available, and this is already happening - it is nothing new. But the trend will dominate consumer choice in the future.”
Ammerlaan said the tomato industry is going to have to rethink the way it sells its produce. “In supermarkets, the first impression is visual,” she said. “Everything is in plastic and you cannot even smell the tomato vines. Consumers are moving towards not-so-perfect looking tomatoes such as Coeur de beef, and are discovering the taste and texture of tomatoes.”
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