‘Smart foods benefit both consumers and farmers’

The ‘smart foods’ trend fulfils all the criteria for a nutritious and healthy diet, and is good for farmers and the planet in terms of being climate smart, according to consumer marketing strategist, May Krugel.

Krugel was speaking at the recent Produce Marketing Association’s Retailers’ Connections lunch, held in Centurion, about the drivers influencing consumers’ buying decisions.

The ‘smart foods’ trend was driven by a new “consumer consciousness” with regard to food, she said.

According to the 2019 Nielsen South Africa Shopper Trends report, buyers had become far more “savvy and critical” of the retail environment, and despite being “hyper-aware” of price changes, wanted quality products and an “experiencedriven” retail environment.

“Retailers and producers are similarly challenged to engage and contend for space in the basket of an increasingly fickle shopper in the midst of the current competitive environment. Value for money and the shopping experience are driving store choice, and retailers therefore need to enhance the shopping experience through innovation and useful tactics such as one-stop shopping, promotions, and in-stock products.” Retailers and producers also needed to work together to ensure they met these consumers requirements, she said.

The CEO of AL 3 Boerdery, Carl Theodoris van der Merwe Jr, who also spoke at the event, said their family farming business recently started producing dragon berries, a sweeter variety of the dragon fruit. He said it was an example of a fruit that could meet the new consumer requirements, as they used less water, had a longer shelf life, and met health and nutrition demands.

“There has been a problem worldwide of varieties that are ‘tasteless’. Now new, sweeter cultivars are being made available to growers,” he said. – Siyanda Sishuba