New figures released today show that, when shown an unbranded logo, 34% and 28% of fish consumers in the Netherlands and in Sweden respectively are aware of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) ecolabel for sustainable and well managed fisheries. This was the first survey ever carried out by AMR Marketing Research in both countries.
The research was carried out after two major joint-marketing campaigns Albert Heijn puur&eerlijk in the Netherlands and the Coop campaign in Sweden, which boosted the visibility of MSC-labelled and increased sales of MSC labelled products.
Consumers adopting more sustainable shopping behaviour
Increased awareness and concerns for sustainability and environmental issues is influencing consumers and their everyday purchases. 45 per cent of Swedish shoppers report buying more products with ecolabels than a year ago – with an equally strong response of 34 per cent of Dutch consumers.
23 per cent of Swedish respondents say that they only buy fish and seafood from sustainable sources, regardless of price and quality, and are even prepared to go elsewhere if the product they are looking for is not available.
In the Netherlands, ecolabels rank as the most trusted sources of information about sustainability – with friends and family recommendations coming second, an indication of how much more sustainability issues are part of everyday conversation.
An average of 54 per cent of Dutch and Swedish respondents believe ecolabels are effective in helping bringing changes to environmental/ social problems (33 per cent still undecided) and 55 per cent think that the MSC is helping to ensure we have wild caught fish in the future (40 still undecided).
Greater availability of sustainable products boost consumer awareness
Nicolas Guichoux, Regional Director for Europe at the MSC, said: “These figures are a great testament to the work of our fisheries and supply chain partners. These results show that the greater range and availability of MSC labelled products has helped boost consumer awareness in the Netherlands and in Sweden. Working closely with our partners across the world, we will continue to make it easier for consumers to choose certified seafood and reward sustainable and well-managed fisheries.”
To support fisheries that are helping to protect the world’s oceans, please choose MSC-certified seafood: http://www.msc.org/product-finder
About AMR Marketing survey
The AMR Marketing survey was carried out to gauge attitudes and behaviour towards ecolabels, sustainable seafood and MSC in the Netherlands and Sweden. The surveys were carried out in April and July 2011 respectively. The sample comprised consumers who were either mainly or jointly responsible for buying fish for themselves/their family. In addition, they were to have bought a fish product at least once in every two months. 574 online interviews were completed in the Netherlands; 535 in Sweden. Statistical analysis has been conducted using the 95 per cent confidence level (+/- 4 per cent).
Consumer surveys to gauge attitudes and behaviour towards ecolabels, sustainable seafood and MSC are undertaken every two years to monitor awareness of and commitment to the MSC labelled products in key markets.
Prompting and Influence’ were minimised by:
Asking these questions before any others in the survey
Removing the text that identifies the ecolabel
Describing it as a logo rather than ecolabel
No clues given to respondents during recruiting of what the survey is testing
