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The Growing Importance of Provenance
Building confidence will be vital in persuading consumers to visit the out-of-home market. A McCain-commissioned CGA insight reveals how consumers will place increasing scrutiny over the pubs, bars, and restaurants they choose to visit, along with their menus. As a leading supplier of quality produce to the restaurant sector and a supporter of British farming, it’s our aim to help operators understand how quality and provenance can encourage customers to visit.
The quality and sourcing of ingredients has always been an integral consideration for consumers when choosing where to visit. Research shows 70% of consumers say sourcing of ingredients will remain important when deciding where to dine out.
In fact, 1 in 4 consumers expect pubs, bars, and restaurants to provide information about where food was grown or produced. Provenance is now a basic expectation for a quarter of customers when deciding where to go.
The new research indicates that environmental and sustainability concerns may take a back seat, with provenance information being the only factor that has increased in importance for consumers.
Consumer Expectations for Sourcing and Quality
44% of consumers said the sourcing of ingredients is now more important, and 53% of 18-34-year-olds said they base decisions on where to dine out on ethical considerations.
Local produce plays into an ethical mindset, with 25% of consumers rating “local produce” as very important. Not only is it desired, but a significant proportion of consumers would also be willing to pay more for local or British produce.
Which of the following, if any, would you pay more for when eating out?
Ethical Considerations and Local Produce
For consumers, local means within a close proximity of the outlet, although for 1 in 7, this means the same country. Consumers show a clear appetite for British produce more so now than ever before.
60% said they find “British produce” to be more appealing than in previous years. The appeal of British produce may stem from economic uncertainty, but it is certainly showing real resonance with consumers.
Why do you find British produce (ie. Ingredients and products) appealing?
The Appeal of British Ingredients
Consumers have greater expectations for the venues they visit to offer British-grown produce.
32% of consumers said they have increased expectations for “British ingredients” from the venues they visit, and 61% said they are now more interested in knowing where their food and produce come from.
Keeping consumers informed will ensure the most frequent and lucrative visitors keep returning to the market they love.
McCain’s Commitment to British Farming and Sustainability
We believe that good ethics is good business. These principles guide who we are, what we do, and how we achieve it. The result? Consistently good food, simply made.
We’re committed to quality from the very start of the supply chain. McCain has been operating in the UK for over 50 years and has invested over £100 million into the renewal of the Scarborough site. We work together with growers—some of whom have supplied McCain for three generations. We are the largest purchaser of British potatoes, priding ourselves on our strong relationship with UK agriculture.
McCain is committed to ‘giving back’ to communities. We actively support local schools and careers events, and since 2013 McCain have donated over 1.3million meals to FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity.
Alongside our suppliers, we’re also a leading supporter of the Red Tractor Assurance Scheme. Find out more about our close relationship with growers on our Meet the Farmers page.
