A survey on consumer behaviour in relation to fresh food products revealed the following: Germans spend, on average, less money on fresh food products than the French, but consume more of them than their neighbours. These representative studies were carried out by marketing research institute OpinionWay on behalf of Bizerba.
41 percent of all German consumers state as a result that they eat more fresh products today than they did five years ago. In France, only about one third (34 percent) claim this. Especially women (46 percent) and young people (64 percent of under 35 year olds) have a positive attitude towards the consumption of fresh food products in both countries.
The reasons for this vary in both countries. In France, over half of the people who were questioned want to eat healthier (53 percent), followed by the desire to reduce the use of processed products (45 percent). In Germany, one fifth say that they want to treat themselves better (20 percent). One third of German consumers (34 percent) name cooking as the reason for the increased consumption of fresh products. About 15 percent buy more fresh products when these are available at a nearby store.
French spend more, but are displeased with price-quality
Though the Germans buy significantly more fresh food products, the French consumers spend more money on fresh products: Germans spend 131 euros (109 USD) on average, whereas the French pay 182 euros (152 USD) on average. Despite, or perhaps because of, these high expenses, consumers in France feel like they are being tricked by overpriced products. For example, 68 percent think they pay too much for meat. German consumers, however, are largely satisfied with the price-quality ratio of fresh products. More than half (56 percent) find that meat products have exactly the right price.
The fast living lifestyle of today's society has a larger effect on the stomachs of German consumers than on those of the French. 27 percent of consumers who said they eat less fresh products than five years ago cook less than five years ago (27 percent Germans vs. 15 percent French) or commonly complain about the lack of time for it (20 percent Germans vs. 10 percent French).
Consumer behaviour of Germans less sensitive to price changes
There are also financial reasons for a reduction of the consumption of fresh food products for the French. If they have less money to spend or the prices go up, over half of the people questioned (51 resp. 53 percent) buy less fresh products. German consumers are significantly less sensitive to this with 29 resp. 28 percent.
Consumers in Germany also feel like they are better informed about the expiration date and the storage of fresh food products. Two third know how long something stays fit for consumption (69 percent) or also how fresh products should be stored (68 percent) - half of French consumers have no regard for this (50 percent). Especially young people under 35 in France state that they are unaware of how long a fresh product without expiration date stays edible without risking getting sick.
The studies were carried out by OpinionWay in July 2016 and February 2017 amongst more than 2,100 consumers in Germany and France on behalf of Bizerba, market leading provider of technology solutions for dealing with fresh food products.
