The Lean Green Dining Machine

Hope you can join us for dinner tonight! It’ll be great; all the food is organic–free of pesticides, GMOs, hormones and anything else you would not want to consume.

Many U.S. consumers, especially those in the Green Core* (38% of adults), are increasingly aware–and concerned–that everything going into food production also goes into their bodies. And they are bringing these concerns to the table.
When we asked consumers about their food concerns and how these affect what goes into their shopping carts, we learned about the interplay of shopping lists and concern lists. For both G Core consumers and their less-green brethren, nasty bacteria in food is a top concern: nine of ten G Core consumers say this issue leads them to carefully select or even avoid products, while two of three who are not G Core consumers claim it guides their selections at least some of the time.

Second on the list of concerns is the safety of foods imported from outside the U.S. Being aware of one issue sensitizes food buyers to other issues: G Core consumers have similarly high levels of awareness and concern for each issue tracked. Not so the mass (non-G Core): awareness and concern lag considerably when they are more “out of sight”: less than half of the mass market is concerned about the use of hormones, for example, or antibiotics or genetic modifications of foods and feeds. Clearly an education opportunity!

Food Safety Concerns	Total Pop	G Core	Non-G Core
Unhealthy bacteria in food	75%	90%	67%
Safety of food imported from foreign countries	74%	88%	66%
Pesticide residue on fruits & vegetables	70%	88%	59%
Food contamination (from packaging, manufacturing)	68%	85%	58%
Food contamination (from air, water soil)	64%	83%	53%
Animal diseases that could be passed on to humans	63%	80%	53%
Use of hormones that accelerate animal growth	62%	83%	49%
Antibiotics given to animals	58%	79%	45%
Genetic modifications to fruits, vegetables or animal feed	56%	76%	44%
Source: Eco-Insights, Spring 2009 Earthsense

Green Core Concerns Register at the (Cash) Register

G Core consumers’ food-related concerns translate into higher-than-average investments in supermarket green aisles. Eco-Insights measures product purchases – green and not-green – for more than 50 food-related categories and, though the G Core accounts for just over one-third of the population, their green purchases represent a majority of the share for many categories. For example, the Green Core captures 67% of the green purchase share for produce:

G Core Share of Green Purchases
	Enthusiasts	Believers	Selectives	Habituals	G Core Total
Produce	16%	28%	17%	6%	67%
Poultry	24%	31%	16%	8%	79%
Milk/cream	22%	31%	17%	9%	79%
Bread	26%	29%	18%	10%	83%
Cereal	26%	29%	17%	10%	82%
Soy/Non-Dairy	22%	30%	16%	8%	76%
Pasta	26%	30%	16%	10%	82%
Meat	24%	29%	18%	9%	80%
Tea	24%	29%	17%	8%	78%
Fish/seafood	23%	30%	18%	8%	79%
Frozen Foods	28%	27%	18%	9%	82%
Coffee	28%	29%	16%	9%	82%
Juice	24%	28%	18%	9%	79%
Snacks	27%	26%	18%	10%	81%
Soup	29%	26%	16%	12%	83%
Source: Eco-Insights, Spring 2008 Earthsense

So What?

While data show the G Core accounts for the majority of green food purchases, two opportunities are clear. The first is that marketers still have plenty of G Core consumers to reach. Second, awareness and concern among non-G Core purchasers are likely to increase, and consumer education will be key for many. Marketers need to support these segments by understanding their concerns and showing them how their products can put those worries to rest.

The Takeaways

1. Find out what’s eating consumers about what they are eating. Tackle these, upstream, in your supply chain and production and communicate what you are doing.
2. Clearly and concisely tell customers how your product addresses their worries.
3. Produce labels that are easy to understand, use print large enough to read (watch the syllable count!), and assess the value of certification seals.
4. Avoid greenwashing claims: be clear and concise.
5. Leverage PR to assure concerned consumers you are addressing food safety concerns head on.

Joining us for dinner? Feel free to bring dessert – something chocolate would be nice, and definitely organic, please. We are hardcore G Core.

There’s a lot on our plate at Earthsense – and there’s enough for healthy second helpings for everyone. Contact us to learn more.

What have you seen lately that’s making you excited about going green? Let us know!

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Learnings from LOHAS:

We just got back from presenting at the annual LOHAS Forum in Boulder CO. Among the many awesome presentations, two are particularly pertinent to this issue of Echo.

Robyn O’Brien spoke from the heart about the importance of understanding what’s in our food, commenting about the price premiums often associated with organic: “If you think organic is expensive, try health care.”

Raised on “po’ boys” and Twinkies and once dismissive of organic foods, when her children’s health was jeopardized, she used her financial analyst skills to become, as some refer to her, “the Erin Brockovich of the food industry.” There’s real meat in her book published in May, The Unhealthy Truth.

“Fresh, The Movie”: showcased at LOHAS thanks to brand & PR firm Haberman. This documentary by film maker Ana Joanes gives voice to farmers, thought leaders and business people who are rethinking and reinventing the food system.

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*The 2009 “G Core” includes four segments of the Dimensions segmentation framework derived from Earthsense’s Eco-Insights Survey. It represents consumers most likely to embrace eco-friendly products: Enthusiasts (6% of adults), Believers (13%), Habituals (5%) and Selectives (14%). Each Dimensions segment describes motivations for buying green, barriers, purchasing behaviors and more–see “Nine Shades of Green,” Echo Issue #2, March 12, 2009) for more on Dimensions. (That article reports '08 data).