Wasted food is wasted money for you and your customers.
1/3 of all food produced globally goes to waste which has a huge impact on the sustainability and economics of food production and consumption. With inflation soaring and supply chain pressures growing, it’s never been more important to prevent your products going to waste.
Kerry’s proprietary consumer research draws from over 5,000 quantitative and 60 one-on-one qualitative deep dive perspectives, detailing the different reasons food goes to waste in homes.
Researchers examined what drives purchase behaviours, the relevance of preservatives and the types of food and drink consumers find most painful to throw out.
Consumers from 10 countries shared their unique food waste journeys, which highlight why preservation and shelf-life extension are the #1 way to address consumer concerns.
98% of consumers are actively trying to reduce food waste.
See the top reasons why
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More than 1/3 of consumers will switch to brands or products with
a longer shelf life, according to research about brand loyalty.
Food waste can hurt your business
Negative brand associations
Consumers will look elsewhere
Lost customers
Negative brand associations
Wasted food
can lower brand and product attitudes and impact repurchase from consumers.
Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019. Erica van Herpen, Ilona E. de Hooge. When product attitudes go to waste: Wasting products with remaining utility decreases consumers’ product attitudes.
Consumers will look elsewhere
Low value, highly consumed foods
that go to waste often (e.g. bread) bring cumulative pain to consumers because of the accruing cost of throwing them out.Consumers may look for an alternative product that produces less waste.
Lost customers
91% of consumers
are adopting new purchase patterns to reduce food waste. These behaviours include purchasing smaller quantities and reading expiration dates before purchase, but more importantly, they will also switch brands if it means wasting less.
A solution? Better shelf life
72% of consumers
agree that extending the shelf life of a food or drink would help them reduce waste.*
Whether by mould, spoilage or past expiration dates, many of the top reasons that food goes to waste are linked to food protection and preservation.
*When consumers were given four solutions to reduce food
waste, extending shelf life was the second most agreeable
solution, after resealable packaging (77%).
Click over the circles
See how this comes to life in:
meat and bakery
Don’t let your brand get left behind
Consumers understand the role of preservatives in their food and 74% believe preservatives are important in the foods they buy.
From extending and maintaining quality over shelf life
to ensuring products are safe to eat, Kerry’s deep preservation portfolio and expertise can meet your
needs today and into the future.