Shoppers like to support Irish brands

Labelling groceries as Irish-made is getting the attention of a growing number of shoppers, even though many believe home-produced goods cost more than imported alternatives.

A survey for ShelfLife magazine found 80% of shoppers were encouraged to buy Irish produce when they saw symbols such as the Love Irish Food and Guaranteed Irish logos — up from 72% last year.

The protection of Irish jobs was shoppers’ main concern, with 76% saying this influenced their choice — also up on last year’s finding of 72%.

That decision is helped by the fact that 81% believe Irish produce is of a high standard, even if 64% believe it is dearer than similar produce sourced elsewhere.

Nicola De Beer of Field Management Ireland, which conducted the survey, welcomed the findings. “If you compare them against last year’s, there’s definitely been an upward trend and people want to buy Irish which is brilliant.

“The research has shown that people are buying Irish because they feel that it’s securing Irish jobs, which is a promising trend. This is definitely a move in the right direction.”

The survey of consumers and retailers found, however, that some producers are not open enough about their Irishness. “There is some room for improvement within this area,” said ShelfLife acting editor Gillian Hamill.

She said while 76% of consumers said it was very important own-brand goods were produced here, just 48% said origins were clear from the packaging. Retailers agreed, just 43% saying Irish suppliers did enough to promote their products.

Retailers and shoppers differed on the importance of own-brand goods being Irish-produced. Just 19% of retailers believed shoppers placed much importance on this, even though half of retailers said 50%-60% of their own-brand stock was Irish-produced, while 78% of retailers saying the Love Irish Food and Guaranteed Irish symbols helped sales of Irish brands.