Markets and Consumer Trends Evaluating Consumer Trends Cinda Williams, UI Extension 2005 Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching

Trends in Population Demographics  Increasing population 281 million in 2000 to 332 million in 2020 Regional shifts - to South and West Aging Population Increase in “empty nesters” (people living alone) Population more educated

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Changes in economics  Income growth at 1% per year  Increase in expenditures on food By 2020 increase by million  Increase in total demand for food by 26%

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Changes in eating and purchasing habits  Consumers will reverse the at-home vs away from home pattern evident in the past few decades  Projections favor a large demand for fruit apples, citrus and grapes  Less meat, fish is up, and eggs & poultry are even  Organic segment increase (30% of population report they have purchased organic products in the last year)

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Food consumption trends  People are buying food for reasons other than just “for food”  As we become a richer society we become more discriminating  More are looking for “Experiences” associated with their food and with the outdoors/nature

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Attributes of food that will sell  Freshness  Flavor  Nutrition  Aesthetics  Diversity of varieties (color and size)  Novelty products  Heritage varieties (nostalgia)

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Other attributes  Convenience  Value-added  Services “beyond products”  Attributes that relate to their values Environmentally friendly production practices Treatment of labor or animals Family owned Locally produced

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Looking at “The Hartman Report”  Conducted in  Food and the Environment: A Consumer Perspective ( Phases 1, 2 and 3)  Characterized market segments to better understand consumer trends Identify and measure Map segments within market place Discover motivations

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching The market segments summary Phase

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Summary of findings – Phase I  The number of consumers interested in purchasing earth-sustainable products is enormous  The consumers in this group are very diverse.

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Summary of findings – Phase II  Environmental issues related to water are most important  Agreement with environmental principles does not translate to marketplace behavior

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Summary of findings – Phase II  Limited understanding of issues and terminology related to earth- sustainable methods  Convenience, quality, cleanliness and price remain the core purchase criteria.

Sustainable Small Acreage Farming & Ranching Lessons learned…  Consumer purchasing habits are connected to their interests and values.  There is a large percentage of consumers that will consider environmental factors in their purchasing choices.  There are several market segments for local producers to tap into.  Researching consumer buying habits can help producers develop a market niche.