The Tastes Of Tomorrow

Thursday, September 21st, 2017

Consumers want to have more say in the products coming their way, but before that, manufacturers should understand how consumers think and make purchasing decisions. Priscillia Ooi, marketing director, Asia-Pacific, Puratos Malaysia, shares more with APFI on the findings of their recent global consumer survey.

The Taste Tomorrow survey conducted by Puratos offers insights from 11,000 consumers across 25 countries on their choices, attitudes and perceptions related to the baked goods industry—this includes products under bread, patisserie and chocolate.

Consumers have become more articulate over the last few years, and they want to have a say in the products that are coming their way, says Ms Ooi. Therefore, it is important for manufacturers to first understand how consumers choose, select, decide and control their baked goods, which is the reason behind the need for the survey. A better understanding of consumer behaviour would enable manufacturers to turn today’s challenges into tomorrow’s opportunities, she said.

The survey found that despite consumer tastes differing around the world, there are three common factors that influence consumer decisions to choose and buy their baked goods: fresh, healthy and tasty.

Specifically for Asia Pacific consumers, Ms Ooi shared the following findings of the survey:

Diversity & Quality:

It was found that 65 percent of them expect food to become more diverse in the future. Only four in 10 however (38 percent), expect food to be of higher quality.

Need For ‘Clean’ & Healthy:

George Shuklin

Labels are becoming more important, in line with the general consumer trend for clean labels. Majority of consumers (73 percent) read labels in detail, rather than not pay attention to it at all.

As the survey referred to baked goods, consumers are concerned about the ingredients that go into products. Wholegrain and wholemeal ingredients are considered a power ingredient because they offer the perfect balance of taste and health; 81 percent of consumers perceive it as healthy, and 67 percent of consumers find it tasty.

Natural ingredients are also important to consumers; 75 percent of consumers would buy more products at bakeries where everything is baked with natural ingredients. Also, 31 percent of consumers fear food will become less natural in the future.