Consumers Cynical about Food Companies

European consumers have less trust in food and drinks firms than in banks, insurance companies, utilities or car dealers, according to a new report from Datamonitor. The report also says nearly half of Europeans lack trust in mainstream media channels, and that trust in businesses overall is 'rapidly diminishing'.

The new report focuses on the sale of functional foods (products that claim to provide a particular health benefit - eg lowering cholesterol). It states that the European functional foods market was worth €4bn (£2.7bn) in 2004 - a 43% increase since 1999. However, many consumers are still not buying these products because they do not trust food manufacturers.

In the UK, for example, 63% of consumers do not believe food and drink health claims. Consumers in mainland Europe are slightly more trusting, but as many as 47% of French people and 56% of Germans are wary of such claims.

Across Europe, nearly half of those surveyed do not trust mainstream media channels, particularly the press and television, and almost six in ten say that they do not trust big companies.

John Band, consumer markets analyst at Datamonitor and author of the report, says: 'All too often, functional products make wide-ranging claims using complicated scientific language - and people just don't think the claims will be true.'

Datamonitor predicts high future growth potential for functional foods - for example, it forecasts 32% growth for the UK market by 2009 - but warns that companies first need to overcome consumers' mistrust. Band adds: 'Unless companies make labelling clearer and more believable, most people will never be persuaded to make the switch to functional food and drinks.'

Datamonitor is online at www.datamonitor.com.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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