With all eyes on climate change at COP26, TWC Trends data shows that half of consumers (51%) say they consider the environmental impact of their menu choices when ordering food in restaurants.
Furthermore, the data shows that local sourcing is becoming increasingly important, with 66% of consumers agreeing that food menus should aim to list far more products or ingredients from local suppliers.
Tom Fender at TWC commented:
“There is no doubt that UK consumers are ‘waking up and smelling the coffee’ when it comes to sustainable living and the importance of each one of us making a contribution to reduce the impact of climate change, reinforced by the messages currently coming through from COP26.
“Covid appears to have been a trigger for many of us. Nearly half of the people questioned said that ethical choices when eating out are now more important to them than before the pandemic began. And 68% of the nation says that food waste is a BIG issue for them, alongside the use of plastics and the over-packaging that we continue to see across the supply chain.
“Hospitality outlets are already making massive strides when it comes to sustainability and in the last two weeks, we have seen an increase in those making pledges towards Net Zero and the interim greener pathways that take them along this journey. For example, Nandos, who have committed to be Net Zero by 2030, have announced this week that they are now offsetting all emissions across their restaurants and supply chain, making every restaurant, meal, delivery and sauce bottle carbon neutral.
“Certainly, local provenance is becoming far more important in consumers’ minds. This will have been exacerbated by the fact that they ‘shopped and stayed local’ during the lockdowns, which has been influential in shaping people’s opinions on how they will shop and eat out in the future”.
TWC Trends helps its clients understand what’s happening in wholesale and why it’s happening by undertaking focus groups and customer surveys across the trade community and consumer groups. TWC conducts two major surveys per year.
For more information or if you are interested in commissioning bespoke research, please visit https://twcgroup.net/what-we-do/
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