Marketing, sales and consumer behaviour - October 2019

NL: more than 1,500 plastic food packages per person per year
Research (in Dutch, 2.43 MB) by ING (in Dutch) shows that the Dutch use around 4 plastic food packages a day. ING presents 6 ways for the food sector to tackle the plastic puzzle. Research (19.03 MB) by Kantar shows that 48% of consumers expect manufacturers to take the lead in tackling plastic waste.

Market for printing, industrial packaging and robots
According to an article by Smithers, the functional and industrial print market will reach $136.8 billion in 2024. Europe is the largest end market for Italian printing and converting machine manufacturers. In a recent article Converting looks at market data.
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reports that a record number of industrial robots were sold globally in 2018. You can download an executive summary (182 kB) of the World Robotics 2019 report. In a recent article, Smithers discusses key drivers and trends for the global industrial packaging market.

Sustainable choices
For his thesis (2.5 MB) at Purdue University, Aaron Staples found that consumers are willing to pay for sustainability attributes in beer portrayed through eco-labels. For pesticides however, it is a different story according to recent San Diego State University (SDDU) research, published in the Journal of Advertising Research (abstract). When visual cues were used suggesting the product was “green” the consumers evaluated it as being less effective. The Dutch government reports (in Dutch) that the Sustainable Food Monitor 2018 (in Dutch) shows that more and more Dutch are opting for food with a sustainability mark.

Healthy choices and less food waste
SDSU research, published in the Journal of Business Research (abstract), found that associating healthy food with pleasurable emotions led to more interest in purchasing it. A new survey (in Dutch, 2.95 MB) by the NL consumers association (in Dutch) shows that a majority of consumers is positive about Nutri-Score. On the other hand, research by Fitzroy (in Dutch) shows that NL Generation Z has little confidence in food quality mark logos. Gen Z prefers the traffic light logo to the Nutri-Score and the Green keyhole. The University of Groningen and WUR have started a research project with almost all the NL supermarkets to stimulate more healthy and sustainable choice behaviour. A recent study (8.37 MB) by Tetra Pak reveals that the convergence of the two consumer issues environment and health is growing, creating opportunities for F&B brands in how they market their products.
Americans throw out a lot more food than they expect they will, food waste that is likely driven in part by ambiguous date labels on packages, a new Ohio State University study has found. An article (abstract) about the research is published in Resources, Conservation and Recycling.

Consumers confused about recycling
According to a new report (in Dutch, 436 kB) by Natuur & Milieu (in Dutch), the lack of information on packaging is an obstacle to recycling. UK consumers are also confused, according to a bpi protec survey about the recyclability of plastic films. More confusion in France where a survey (in French, 2.14 MB) by CITEO (in French) shows that 30% of the people consider themselves poorly informed about how to dispose of packaging.

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