Iowans Have Aisle Insights

The Iowa Food & Family Project's annual Consumer Pulse Survey shows that grocery shoppers are fans of farmers and mistrust food marketing

By Kelly Visser

If you spend a little time on social media or perusing flashy magazine ads, it seems that grocery shoppers are falling victim to trends and fads, ready to pull out their pocketbooks for catchy marketing and little substance.

But according to the Iowa Food & Family Project’s (Iowa FFP) latest Consumer Pulse Survey, that doesn’t hold true for Iowans.

Survey results show grocery shoppers across the state are growing savvier to misleading food marketing. These shoppers trust farmers to grow and raise food with care and are hesitant to let buzzworthy trends dictate their buying decisions.

Now in its eighth year, the survey gauges grocery shopping habits, food label influence and attitudes toward agriculture. Year-over-year findings not only give a pulse on perceptions but also help shape Iowa FFP content, events and activities.

The November 2019 survey had 597 responses and 307 were engaged with Iowa FFP as monthly Fresh Pickings eNewsletter subscribers. Respondents’ age groups, income levels, education levels and geographic regions closely follow the state’s population, resulting in a 4% margin of error.

Blue Compass, a digital marketing agency in West Des Moines, conducted the survey analysis from data collected through Dynata’s business-to-consumer panel.

2019 CONSUMER PULSE SURVEY FINDINGS

83% OF SHOPPERS FIND FOOD MARKETING MISLEADING

“If you have a basic understanding of food, you can intuitively choose products. People already know what they want, what they trust or have used before. You’re not going to compare labels each time you shop.” - Nancy Macklin, Urbandale*

QUALITY & PRICE TOP THE LIST AS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD PURCHASING FACTORS

3% of food purchasers shop for groceries online

“When it comes to buying local, I often think about fruits and vegetables. I'd rather buy a tomato from a local family because it seems safer and valuable for our community.” - Natalie Hoover, Ankeny*

The purchase influence of front-of-package marketing has dropped from 32% in 2016 to 19% today

"I'm concerned about food marketing. It's unclear what the parameters may be. A lot of the words used to market foods may or may not be true. It's really open to individual interpretation." - Shirley MacLeod, Ankeny*

More than 75% of food-minded consumers give farmers an excellent or good rating for producing safe foods, contributing to the local economy and raising healthy animals with care

“I APPRECIATE THAT FARMERS DELICATELY BALANCE PRODUCING FOOD WITH CARE AT A REASONABLE PRICE.” - MARIAN POULSON, MINGO*

56% think about how food was grown and raised, down from 68% in 2016

“I’m always thinking about the overall impact of my food choices on the environment. Everything from product packaging to the water or natural resources used to grow feed for animals.” - Robin Doty, Huxley*

78 % OF SHOPPERS ARE SATISFIED WITH IOWA AGRICULTURE

7 in 10 agree they're knowledgable about Iowa farming

Let us know what you think!

Iowa FFP is all about encouraging two-way conversations on today’s food and farm system.

We’d love to hear your reaction to these findings. Do any of the responses surprise you? What grocery trends are you adopting? Do you think about how food was grown and raised?

Visit iowafoodandfamily.com/contact to let us know what you think!

*Comments made during a focus group held in February. The discussion covered questions in the Consumer Pulse Survey, seeking direct feedback from 12 Iowa grocery shoppers who are familiar with Iowa FFP.

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