Consumer trust key for future success of food industry

Consumer trust has never been more valuable to the New Zealand food industry and is set to play a key role in its future success, a visiting international agricultural expert has told the horticulture sector. Yet winning and sustaining this trust has also never been more complex.

Speaking at the New Zealand Horticulture conference in Hamilton, the Sydney-based general manager for RaboResearch Australia and New Zealand, Tim Hunt, said consumer trust was becoming an increasingly precious commodity for NZ food producers.

“New Zealand’s emerging markets, like China and South East Asia, place a high

value on food safety and the process of food preparation, while more mature wealthy markets are willing to pay for sustainability, animal welfare, fairness and attractive provenance,” he said in a media release.

“In both cases, the attributes customers are looking for are not self-evident at the point of purchase or when they consume the food. So in order to win their business and hopefully extract the premium, it is vital food producers win their trust.”

While Hunt said consumer trust has never been more valuable, he cautioned that earning and maintaining this trust is now more complex than ever.

“Trust in companies, the government and regulators is on the decline and the integrity of the food industry is under attack from media and documentary makers.

“We’re also seeing a shift to online food sales, which is changing the environment in which we are building consumer relations, and new technology creating the capacity for consumers to trace product through the supply chain.”

He said it would be essential for the New Zealand food sector to capitalise on evolving technology to highlight the strong provenance and health and welfare story that’s already in place.

"We’re going to see more and more technological developments which enable us to trace the standards of food in the supply chain,” he said.