Consumers like the idea of buying local food but are not prepared to pay over the odds for it, a new survey has revealed.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of shoppers told market research company Adsearch they wanted to buy local food but thought they should be paying less for it than for 'regular' food.
When consumers were asked how much they would be prepared to pay for £100 of regular products if they had been produced in their locality, the average answer was £97.
"A significant minority of people are prepared to pay a small premium, which might be 10% or 15%, but there's a hardcore that think local should be cheaper because they involve fewer food miles and tend to be relatively unprocessed foods," said Adsearch MD Peter Jackson.
Some 62% said it was important that a supplier of local products be certified by a specialist body. At present there is no legal definition of 'local food' and there is confusion over what constitutes a local or regional product.
Only 9% of consumers thought supermarkets were the best place to buy local food. Jackson said the multiples were "missing a trick" by not labelling more of their food as local.
However, Tesco said its local and regional food was enjoying double-digit sales growth and it was on course to sell £830m of local and regional products this financial year.
"Local and regional food is increasingly important to our customers, although they have started to buy more basic items, such as minced beef, as a result of the recession," said Sarah Mackie, a category manager for local food.
Almost two-thirds (65%) of shoppers told market research company Adsearch they wanted to buy local food but thought they should be paying less for it than for 'regular' food.
When consumers were asked how much they would be prepared to pay for £100 of regular products if they had been produced in their locality, the average answer was £97.
"A significant minority of people are prepared to pay a small premium, which might be 10% or 15%, but there's a hardcore that think local should be cheaper because they involve fewer food miles and tend to be relatively unprocessed foods," said Adsearch MD Peter Jackson.
Some 62% said it was important that a supplier of local products be certified by a specialist body. At present there is no legal definition of 'local food' and there is confusion over what constitutes a local or regional product.
Only 9% of consumers thought supermarkets were the best place to buy local food. Jackson said the multiples were "missing a trick" by not labelling more of their food as local.
However, Tesco said its local and regional food was enjoying double-digit sales growth and it was on course to sell £830m of local and regional products this financial year.
"Local and regional food is increasingly important to our customers, although they have started to buy more basic items, such as minced beef, as a result of the recession," said Sarah Mackie, a category manager for local food.
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