This project has received funding from the EuropeanUnion's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmeunder grant agreement No 678024.

Exploring the Psyche of the Adventurous and Open-Minded ConsumerDr Barbara ToccoStrength2Food Project Manager & Research Associate, Newcastle University Business School, UK

19-20 November, ExCeL, London

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

Game Time: Do you Know? Do you Buy?

• Whiting• Dab• Pollock• Coley/ Saithe• Flounder• Ling• Witch • John dory

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• Mullet• Plaice• Turbot• Gurnard• Brill• Hake• Halibut• Monkfish

• Scallops• Octopus• Squid• Lobster• Crab• Oysters• Dublin bay prawns/

langoustines

And many others: sole, eel, herring, mackerel, sea trout, skate, etc.

The UK Big 5: Cod - Haddock - Salmon - Tuna - Prawns

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 2

TOP 5 LANDED SEAFOOD SPECIES: NORTH SHIELDS FISH QUAY, UK

Marine Management Organisation (2015)

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 3

FOOD

BASIC NEED

FAMILY TRADITION

SOCIAL GATHERING

LOCAL CULTURE

HERITAGE

WHAT IS FOOD? WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT TO YOU?

FAMILIARITY ENJOYMENT

ADVENTURE CATALYST FOR CHANGE

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 4

CONSUMER RESPONSIBILITY TO SOCIETAL CHALLENGES

Target 12.8: By 2030, ensure that people everywhere havethe relevant information and awareness for sustainabledevelopment and lifestyles in harmony with nature

(United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals)

• Dietary shifts and new trends in food & drink industry - ‘Seaganism’• Food-tech innovations and functional foods, e.g. edible insects, lab-

grown meat, aquaculture/aquaponics, etc.• Government intervention to limit negative externalities (e.g. sugar

tax, plastic ban, meat tax?) • Celebrity endorsement and high-profile chefs’ campaigns• Consumer responsibility to change food demand and preferences

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

• Sustainability as a complex and multi-dimensional concept• Economic, social and environmental trade-offs• Lack of a comprehensive and ‘holistic’ assessment of agri-food

value chains rationale for Strength2Food’s project

Understanding consumers’ perspective and paradigms for ‘better’ choices

1. Decoding the consumer mind2. Observing consumer practices3. Investigating the behaviour-intention gap

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CONSUMER RESPONSE TO FOOD SUSTAINABILITY

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

CONSUMER EVIDENCE FROM NORTH-EAST ENGLAND

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Sustainable Practices & Food Quality Schemes Ethnographic fieldwork with 6 households: semi-structured interviews,

participant observation of food practices (planning, purchasing, using and disposal), experimental games, self-reflection and biography (Amilien et al., 2018)

Short Food Supply Chains and Local Seafood Semi-structured interviews & surveys to customers of fish box scheme

(Vittersø et al., 2019)

Experimental debates: Hybrid forums 2.0 (Amilien, Tocco and Strandbakken, 2019)

Action research: local pilot initiatives (Food Nation & Newcastle University, 2019)

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 7

A PLETHORA OF FOOD QUALITY LABELS!… BUT…

How many do you recognise? How many inform your consumption behaviour? What do they actually mean?!

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

HOUSEHOLDS’ DILEMMAS AND CONSUMER CONFUSION

Tesco

Sainsbury’s

Morrisons

Waitrose

• Certifications vs retailer labelling

• Free-range vs organic vs other animal welfare standards • Marketing slogans: ‘freshness and quality’, ‘healthy

living’, ‘eat fresh’, ‘home grown’• Quality range within same retailer (value/basics, regular,

premium/finest)

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This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

DRIVERS AND BARRIERS TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FOOD

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• Convenience, time and price are main drivers • Confusion and mistrust towards labels - e.g. organic • Food scares and diseases as triggers of consumer

consciousness - e.g. meat consumption• Social and ethical considerations increasingly more

important for consumers

Source: NHS (2018).

• Appreciation of quick and easy benchmark, e.g. traffic light rating for nutritional composition

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

INVESTIGATING THE BEHAVIOUR-INTENTION GAP

• Consumer apathy or food labelling jungle?• Valuation and attitude towards sustainability

heterogeneous across products, consumers, situations • Consumer archetypes and pyramid of values

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Price/ Convenience

Food Safety

Fair/ Ethical

Local Food/ National Quality Labels

Animal Welfare/ Organic

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

ALTERNATIVE FOOD BUSINESS MODELS

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Fish Box Scheme

• Promote quality, fresh, local, seasonal and SUSTAINABLE seafood

• Take the strain off overfished stocks

• Introduce customers to new types of fish and seafood

• Support the inshore fleeting fleet

Northumberland Seafood, Amble, UKhttps://northumberlandseafood.co.uk/creel-fish-club/

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 12

FISH BOX SCHEME

The ‘ugly’ fish

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

CONSUMER MOTIVES TO USE THE FISH BOX SCHEME

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SOCIAL• Social capital and local

networks (e.g. trust and knowledgeexchange)

HEALTHY• Freshness• Quality

ECONOMIC• Support local economy

EDUCATIONAL• Exposure to different/ unknown seafood• Sustainable consumption

(local, seasonal, abundant) • Self-esteem with cooking• Challenge, adventure and fun

(what’s inside the box?)

ENVIRONMENTAL• Seasonality• Low food miles

Small and ‘niche’ customer base: well-educated, upper-middle class, adventurous

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 14

• Convenience - in purchasing (few collection points with limited storage capacity, no internet sale* or home delivery) & using (efforts in preparing)

• Cost - price/willingness to pay• Skills and confidence in the kitchen • Information & education - low awareness/ interest regarding

provenance, seasonality, sustainability

PERCEPTIONS - taste, food culture, financial value

* Internet sales only recently launched

Demand sideBARRIERS FOR SUSTAINABLE BEHAVIOUR

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 15

Seafood consumption underrepresented on household and restaurant menus, in terms of quantity and variety:

• Familiarity and ‘stick with what you know’ mentality: big 5 species

• Low skills and confidence in the kitchen• Price sensitivity - e.g. cheap or discounted species• Convenience and efforts in cooking – e.g. filleted, marinated,

ready to eat• Taste, culture and other perceptions: “too many bones”, “tasting

fishy”, “too expensive”

However, chefs can make it possible to challenge our perceptions, open our mind, start a movement, start a trend!

CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS LOCAL SEAFOOD

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

Watch Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT0MlMsv5JQ

Innovative pilot actions: Improve skills and confidence in the kitchen: train the chefs of the future! Change consumer perceptions: underutilised and locally abundant species

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HOW CAN WE DEVELOP A MORE SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD SECTOR?

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 17

SEAFOOD SUPPER CLUBS: IMPROVING AND INFLUENCING ACCESS TO SUSTAINABLE FISH

Promote fresh, seasonal and high quality locally landed seafood

Use underutilised local species but also typical discards, such as fish heads, bones and skin

Bridge the gap between the fish industry and the wider public Bring about behavioural and cultural change in the region Improve consumer exposure and perceptions towards

different species of local seafood, as well as their knowledge regarding sustainable sourcing

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 18

SEAFOOD SUPPER CLUBS

Harissa Kitchen, Newcastle upon Tyne

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 19

The adventurous and open-minded consumer Captivate by curiosity

and creative recipes in the kitchen

Inspire with sustainable movements (e.g. ugly food, slow food, etc.)

WHAT CAN BE DONE? NUDGING FOR BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

Moving out of comfort zone

Promote nutritional benefits Improve price and

convenience Make it attractive, simple,

and accessible Facilitate people making

better decisions –education, awareness, regulation

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024.

How to mainstream sustainable food consumption?

Golden rules: seasonal, local and ‘good’ farming practices (environmentally, socially, ethically, etc.)

Joint-action approach: all actors within the supply chain

Controversies: Subsidise local / sustainable food (e.g. organic) vs taxing unhealthy/ unsustainable food?

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This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 678024. 21

TAKE-HOME MESSAGES

1. Information and awareness about sustainable food choices2. Access to healthy & sustainable food for ALL 3. Transparency and ‘simplicity’ within the food industry4. We can change our mind of what food is beautiful5. Encouraging to eat the ‘other’ type of food: the unknown,

unconventional, imperfect, ugly6. Your food choice matters! Let’s determine the kind of change

we want to see!

Let’s expand our food culture: BE BOLD, BE ADVENTUROUS!

This project has received funding from the EuropeanUnion's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programmeunder grant agreement No 678024.

Thanks for your attention!Questions?

Dr Barbara Toccobarbara.tocco@ncl.ac.uk

19-20 November, ExCeL, London