Iowans Have Aisle Insights

Above: Royster family, farmers from Duncombe

Survey shows grocery shoppers are fans of farmers, mistrust food marketing

BY KELLY VISSER, AG AWARENESS MANAGER

Attention-grabbing headlines often paint grocery shoppers to be victims of the latest trends, ready to pull out their pocketbooks for catchy marketing and little substance.

According to the Iowa Food & Family Project’s (Iowa FFP) latest Consumer Pulse Survey, those headlines don’t hold true for Iowans. Results show grocery shoppers across the state are growing more and more savvy to misleading food marketing, hesitant to pick up on buzzworthy trends and trusting farmers to grow and raise food with care.

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 the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and Iowa FFP consumer-focused programming and content development.

For Pat Swanson, ISA District 9 Director from Ottumwa, the results help cut through the headlines.

“The findings are actionable and Iowa specific” she says. “Rather than being overwhelmed with the constant stream of confusion and misinformation that’s in the media, hearing directly from Iowa grocery shoppers helps me focus on what I can share as a farmer to help improve their understanding and perception of today’s food system.”

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-toconsumer panel.

Gaining a growing audience’s trust

Half of shoppers reported being familiar with Iowa FFP, a 15% increase from 2016. Twelve percent reported being “very familiar” in 2019, a 10% increase from 2016.

The ag awareness initiative reaches nearly 130,000 followers each month through its magazine, eNewsletter, website and social media channels. This is roughly equivalent to the combined populations of Altoona, Cedar Falls and Dubuque. When asked about the trustworthiness of Iowa FFP as a source of information, three out of four rated the initiative as “very trustworthy” with 90% rating it as trustworthy.

“It’s clear, the Iowa Food & Family Project is making impacts, and living out its vision to grow ag awareness and build consumer confidence in modern farming,” Swanson says.

Iowa FFP invites Iowans to explore how food is grown around the state and meet the farmers who make it happen; 24/7, 365 days a year. The initiative works with a collaborative network of more than 35 food, farming and healthy living organizations who are proud of Iowa’s homegrown foods and hometown values.

Do you seek information on front-of-package marketing?

Do you think front-of-packaging is misleading?

Three Key Aisle Insights

Mistrust in Food Marketing

• While half of shoppers seek information on front-of-package food marketing (call outs like “organic,” “hormonefree” or “all natural”), 83% find food marketing misleading.

• Since 2016, the purchasing influence of front-ofpackage marketing has dropped from 32% to 19%.

• When it comes down to it, quality and price top the list as the most important food purchasing factors.

Bucking the Trend

• Almost 9 in 10 shoppers agree they are unlikely to replace meat with imitation meat for any given meal.

• Only 3% of food purchasers shop for groceries online.

Fans of Farmers

• 78% of shoppers are satisfied with Iowa agriculture.

• Iowa FFP subscribers were significantly more likely than non-subscribers to be “very satisfied” with Iowa agriculture, 50% versus 35%, respectively.

• Three-quarters of foodminded consumers give farmers an excellent or good rating for producing safe foods, contributing to the local economy and raising healthy animals with care.

Contact Kelly Visser at kvisser@iasoybeans.com.