Cheap beats organic during hard times

Prior to our latest economic downturn our food buying habits were slowly changing away from the mass produced food items of extremely questionable quality to more organic and Fairtrade food stuffs. According to Geoff Beattie, head of Cohn Wolfe Global Practices, this trend is quickly reversing with premium food brands taking a big hit.

The trend, which has seen three in five shoppers (69%) in Britain cutting back on buying organic food, is one that is likely to continue. Beattie says that the recession has shaken the “moral veneer” of consumers and is seeing them favoring bargain foods over the higher priced ‘green’ foods.

The study also revealed new shopper loyalties are emerging, as food manufacturers and retailers engage in a value contest. In the recession, half of shoppers (46%) feel more positive towards using discount grocery stores.

As a result, two in five shoppers (39%) plan to shop at discount supermarkets more often, and over a third (36%) will continue to substitute well-known brand labels in their shopping baskets with economy ranges.

Source: Guardian UK :: Recession sees shoppers switch from green to budget products

It has always amazed me how food stuffs which supposedly don’t use things like expensive pesticides and involve high transportation costs are more expensive that the products that do. Green and eco-friendly only seem to mean another way to charge more for a products so it’s no wonder these types of products are just sitting on the shelves.