By Ellie Copeland, a market and consumer rights consultant with FORWARD Insight & Strategy
Chinese consumers have historically been seen as “less sensitive” to sustainability concerns, but there is evidence that the picture is changing.
In China, government direction creates ripple effects through business and society.
We are seeing prioritisation of sustainability, with clear targets for peak emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Large multinationals, driven by more ambitious global agendas, are also playing a role in educating consumers.
Rapid change is also driven from the bottom up, through savvy and connected consumers. People are strongly influenced by social media, where sustainable ideas are increasingly entering the conversation.
Trust and quality are important to Chinese consumers, and central to sustainability. We have a head start – New Zealand is seen as a leader in trusted, top quality food.
The 2000s were a turbulent time for food safety in China. The 2008 milk scandal involving melamine-contaminated infant formula was just one of the many disasters that set food safety and quality as a top priority for both government and consumers.
In a time of food safety concerns, NZ was seen as a clean, safe haven for top-quality and nutritious produce. The result was that NZ food brands in China had the equivalent of landing on “Pass Go, collect $200”.
On a recent trip to explore the current and future state of sustainable food in China, I spoke with business leaders who noted there is still that trust in the quality of NZ produce. “Tell people it’s from New Zealand, and that’s enough” was a pretty encouraging comment to hear.
Trust in quality is particularly important in sustainability marketing, where consumers are increasingly jaded and wary of greenwashing. Building trust is not easy, so this is an attribute to cherish and protect.
We need to protect and solidify our position, because the playing field is being levelled
First and foremost, we need to keep doing what we excel at behind the farm gate – producing great food in increasingly sustainable and efficient ways.
But we also must be seen and heard, to reward the outstanding work farmers are doing, and capture the demand and value, because we are facing increased competition from both domestic and international brands in China.
Historically, Western brands were those associated with quality. This has drastically changed – local consumers are increasingly seeing local Chinese brands as premium, trusted and interesting.
International brands are increasingly competitive, telling a similar story of clean, safe, premium, nutritious food – like Irish meat brands with their grass-fed positioning, or Australian meat brands with a consistent grain-fed story. If European Union producers meet 2030 emissions and environmental targets set out in the Farm to Fork strategy, they will be in an even stronger position to tell this story.
It’s hard to be seen in the world of food, and storytelling matters.
We have great individual brands in market and these each have their own role to play. To be chosen amid a sea of competitors, we need to both strengthen these individual brands and tell the same compelling NZ story, again and again across these brands.
This means showing up together as a united front with a clear, consistent and highly emotive provenance brand to build salience and capture value.
This is particularly the case in sustainability messaging. If we can continue to build trust and education through our strong base story, individual brands have less of a job to do to convert consumers.
Taste Pure Nature, the campaign initiated by Beef + Lamb NZ in 2019, encapsulates what is special about NZ produce, in alignment with what consumers care about. Its effectiveness has been extensively researched across our export markets.
The connection to sustainability in this story, expressed in a way that speaks to quality, taste and health, provides a base for individual brands to capture value from sustainability credentials. This supports return for the great practices being implemented behind the farm gate.
Importantly, Taste Pure Nature is a campaign that aims to educate consumers around the health and environmental benefits of grass-fed meat, which is particularly important in the context of the Chinese market, in which grain-fed is more familiar and currently aligned with premium.
Taste Pure Nature needs industry aligned behind it to have impact in such a big and competitive market.
In future, maybe the Taste Pure Nature brand could even be leveraged outside of the meat category, to grow its impact.
We need to continue to punch above our weight – not just in what we’re doing, but in how we show up.
Let’s stand together to stand out.
