icWales.co.uk:
Consumers in the UK are spending more than ever on speciality food and drink, a new report suggests.
The report, Masstige and Super Premium Consumers, from Datamonitor, shows that people in the UK spend an average of £56 on goods like gourmet coffee, handmade chocolates and organic food.
Speciality food is defined as high quality items that have ‘individual, different, country or gourmet food characteristics and are not mass produced’. Brits are now the 2nd largest consumers of speciality food and drink in Europe after the French - fantastic news for Welsh food producers, who for years have been carving out their role in niche food markets.
The most successful decided early on that they could not compete on the commodity goods market and have instead concentrated on producing high quality goods and investing in clever branding to make their goods more desirable.
According to the report, consumers of all income groups now seek out whatever premium products they can afford. The rise in concern over healthier lifestyles has also driven the market for organic food, which is more expensive.
Retailers report that people are more interested in food provenance too - something Welsh producers can capitalise on with Wales’ clean, green image.
The internet has allowed many farmers who are far from traditional markets to reach a wider audience. High income earners in South-East England and further afield are happy to pay more to order Welsh meat directly from farms or butchers in the Welsh countryside which is delivered by courier.
Meat that is traceable, organic, produced in a particular geographic area, or reared on a special diet, perhaps as grass-fed, whets the appetite of consumers who are looking for something different.
Other speciality Welsh products like butter, cheese and yoghurt are also proving popular, with small, artisan producers achieving national recognition in the food media for their superb quality and ability to offer something different and unique.
It is not only consumers who get a treat when seeking out speciality food. This trend is an important one for boosting the rural economy. What consumers need now is clearer signposting, so that they can find top-quality Welsh food more easily.
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