Consumer trends in food and drink in Scotland

The recent consumer research undertaken by 56 Degree Insight for the Scottish Retail Food and Drink Awards has generated a huge amount of data on Scottish consumers’ food and drink consumption and purchasing habits. We have been able to identify what is important to consumers when deciding what to buy, and where - from channel choice to brand decisions around label information, to the bigger issues around provenance and sustainability - and where they fit in decision-making alongside price and quality.

Two key areas have come through in all of this consumer research - firstly, the importance of health decisions around dietary choice and choosing products that can deliver a healthier lifestyle. Secondly - the desirability to choose products which have been produce, reared or grown locally.

The good folks behind the main trade magazine for Scottish convenience stores, Scottish Local Retailer Magazine (SLR), have kindly provided us with space to write a column each month on some of these trends. You can access the digital version of this magazine here (well worth a read for everyone with an interest in the latest trends win local retail) but hopefully of interest to some of you, we have reproduced the two most recent articles below - The Local Factor and The Health Factor.

Helping Anglian Water’s customers to love every drop

Driving up customer satisfaction is essential for Anglian Water. Yet, as a water company which provides a service which many people don’t think much about, this can be a challenging ambition.

While the day to day customer service provided by Anglian Water undoubtedly plays a vital role in improving customer satisfaction levels (from fixing leaks and unblocking pipes to responding to call centre enquiries quickly), given the low levels of day to day contact the organisation has with the vast majority of customers, how the brand is communicated is also extremely important.

Recognising this Anglian Water’s communications seek to make it clear what the organisation does and what their brand stands for, seeking to move from a place where users of their services have little or no interest or knowledge in what they do to one where customers care about and appreciate what the organisation does. The ultimate aim of their communications is to help customers to understand Anglian Water’s brand purpose and the relevance this has to their own lives and those of others living in their community.

Brand tracking

We are delighted to have been working with Anglian Water for the last year to undertake analysis and reporting of their brand tracking research. This research programme involves quarterly ‘dips’ surveying a representative sample of customers from across the Anglian Water region. The survey tracks a number of key indicators including brand awareness, knowledge, advocacy and how well they are delivering against a number of strategic areas of focus such as sustainability, value and community engagement.

The research also allows us to test the effectiveness of Anglian Water’s communications (for example see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6TZaulQwI) to evaluate to what extent communications are reaching their target audiences, the messages being taken, how these are impacting on people’s opinions of the brand and any actions taken as a result.

Business impact

The results from the brand tracking are proving invaluable to Anglian Water by giving them the actionable insights they need to pursue their brand, comms and creative strategies. This has included identification of the key drivers of positive brand perception and customer satisfaction and a deeper understanding of how to connect the brand, comms and customer experience. 

If you’d like to discuss how 56 Degree Insight can support you in your brand and communications evaluation or would like to hear more about the work that we are doing in the utilities sector, please get in touch.