UK consumers feel the pinch as cost of living crisis spirals and impacts sustainable food purchases

14 Aug 2023 --- Varda, an agri-tech start-up founded by the precision agriculture solutions specialist Yara, has revealed the results of its recent survey on consumer attitudes toward food supply chains, underscoring that only 29% are willing to pay more for food that is sustainably sourced, but 88% do consider where their food comes from.

This news comes as 100% of respondents surveyed notice the impact of the cost of living crisis and rising food prices.

Speaking to Food Ingredients First, Davide Ceper, CEO of Varda, explains that people express interest in shopping more mindfully but this sentiment doesn’t always translate into real action in purchasing sustainable products. 

“We are focused on building the infrastructure to make data accessibility easier across the food industry, in turn, this can improve transparency around the true cost of production, helping downstream consumers to make more informed decisions.”

Cost of living hits hard 
Based on responses from 1,000 consumers in the UK, the research shows that 63% of consumers surveyed see themselves as sustainably aware, with 70% concerned about the future of our food supply. 

Almost half (46%) said they would choose a sustainably sourced product, and almost half (48%) would consider the environmental impact of buying certain foods that have a high carbon footprint.

The results evidenced that the cost of living crisis has significantly impacted consumers in the past six months, which has ultimately affected the food choices and shopping habits of 89% of respondents.

A limited budget means consumers cannot access sustainably sourced foods, with only 29% of people willing to pay more for sustainable items.A limited budget was the primary factor in consumers needing help to access sustainably sourced foods, with only 29% of people willing to pay more for sustainable items, despite the commitment toward making more sustainable choices. If they were to buy greener items, 86% of those surveyed would only pay up to 25% more for them.

According to Ceper, there has been a “reduction in the purchasing of sustainable items in some categories, as families need to cope with tighter budgets, while typically these items are more expensive.” 

“Unfortunately, as long as inflation persists and real salaries do not pick up, the risk is that the environmental agenda is going to take the back seat as people choose cheaper options without focusing too much on their impact,” he details. 

In terms of sustainable purchasing, Ceper believes that a significant transition to greener products will take a much longer time. “It will also require salary adaptations from companies and supportive policies from governments and institutions to make sure that consumers can trust the sustainability claims coming from the industry,” he reflects.

Dietary choices
Regarding whether consumers are willing to alter their dietary choices, 58% are not currently adjusting their eating habits to benefit the environment. 

However, regarding the environmental impact of food production, 71% said they would alter their diet moving forward to reduce this.

“Ultimately, these results highlight that sustainability is like a glass that is both half full and half empty. While there has been some progress made when it comes to creating a future food supply that is less environmentally impacting, there are clearly major concerns when it comes to the accessibility of greener food choices,” explains Ceper.

“There is still a long way to go to preserve our future that depends on a healthy and thriving natural capital. Whether this is through finding ways to calculate the externalities of foods or implementing technology to drive sustainable farming practices, we need to push global collaboration to meet our sustainability targets and make tangible changes consistently.” 

“Awareness has passed; we now need action,” he affirms. 

Enhancing transparency 
To help tackle these issues, Varda is encouraging the transition to a nature-positive food system and regenerative farming by enhancing interoperability and transparency across the food value chain. 

Varda’s Global FieldID aims to establish a shared geospatial reference framework that encompasses the entire agriculture industry. 

This “QR code for fields” aims to enhance collaboration in the supply chain for stakeholders to exchange data across the agricultural sector.

By Elizabeth Green