[INSIGHTS REPORT] 5 Key Insights from Parents On Buying Irish Food Products

This month’s insights are all about the topic of buying Irish. We asked parents from our trusted panel to tell us where and why they buy Irish, how they check Irish provenance and what encourages them to try Irish products. Read on to find out more about 5 Key Insights From Parents On Buying Irish Food Products and to download our free insights report.

Would you like tailored insights for your brand? Use our trusted panels of engaged parents and our dedicated private platform to gather critical insights to help your decision making and activate customers. Contact us now to find how we can help.

This month’s Insights report has identified 5 key trends from parents on purchasing and trying Irish food products. To gather this, we partnered with Innovate Solutions who carried out an online survey, then ParentsandBrands ran an online focus group with our trusted panel on our private platform.

5 Key Insights On Buying Irish

An online quantitative survey of 16 questions was distributed via email during May 2021 to 531 Irish consumers across the country. The survey was active for 10 days and the total number of complete responses was 311.

Five trends came out of the feedback that are really interesting:

1. Where People Buy Irish 
2. How They Check If A Product Is Irish Before Buying
3. Why They Buy Irish
4. Irish VS Non-Irish Products 
5. Encouraging Consumers To Try Irish Products

Key stats from Consumers about Buying Irish Food Products

• 30% say Supervalu has the best range of Irish food products available for purchase.
• 70% of respondents use guaranteed marks to check if a product is Irish before purchasing.
• 78% say their main motivation for buying Irish is to support Irish food producers.
• 48% say they would still buy an Irish product even if there was a cheaper alternative non-Irish product available.
• 57% say they would like clearer Irish provenance labelling on the products they buy.

Online Focus Group Insights

An Online Focus Group was carried out on the ParentsandBrands private platform in May 2021 with 30 women from our trusted panel from across Ireland.

Here are some of the key insights and feedback:

Where People Buy Irish

“I have noticed over the last few years Lidl, Aldi and Supervalu have gotten great for supporting Irish Producers and have campaigns to bring small local producers into stores. Supervalu have the food Academy and Lidl and Aldi have their campaigns too. These are great in my opinion and it has been an easy way to try out these brands that I probably may not have come across but because I shop in these stores I have tried them now and loved some of them.”

Checking If A Product Is Irish Before Buying

“I check for Guaranteed Irish or Bord Bia stickers to ensure I’m buying Irish”

Why Buy Irish

“I like to support local, both from a supplier perspective but also to reduce carbon footprint.”

Irish vs Non-Irish Food Products

“I think if it was a product that I’d need to buy a lot of to feed the family and it was a lot more than a non Irish product I’d really have to consider it. However I do know I’ve spent more on Irish free range chicken because of the welfare issue. So it’s so hard to say. I think overall I do spend a bit more to support Irish.”

Encouraging Consumers To Try Irish Products 

“Fair price. Dedicated Irish areas in supermarkets, like SuperValu do. More obvious packaging.”

Key Recommendations for Brands

• Retailers/suppliers/producers should ensure they include clear signifiers of provenance (Bord Bia Quality Mark, Guaranteed Irish, Love Irish Food etc) that make their Irish products easily identifiable
• Just under half of the parents we surveyed will buy a more expensive Irish product vs a cheaper non-Irish product, so don’t be afraid of your product cost being higher. It’s all about perception!

Download This Month’s Free Insights Report

For more stats, recommendations and insights into what parents are saying about buying Irish and what matters most to them, download this month’s free Insights report on 5 Key Insights From Parents About Buying Irish Food Products.

In the report you’ll get in-depth survey stats, drill-down insights and recommendations.

Would you like insights from parents for your business? Talk to our panels of engaged mums and dads, using our dedicated private platform to gather critical insights to help influence and activate them. Contact us now to find how we can help.