Do consumers want American food?


Seeing the words “Made in the USA” on a grocery store product is a breath of fresh air to a skeptical American Shopper. A product of any other country equals a heightened fear of the unknown and complex supply chain that is imported foods. In a recent food safety survey from Deloitte 47% of consumers state they are very concerned about the safety of imported foods.

However, with the demand by Americans for variety and low cost goods, the billion dollar business of food imports is booming in the United States. Interestingly in that same survey when asked about reading the country of origin labels on products, only 19% of shoppers report reading them all the time. It might be interesting to do a customer perception study of putting country of origin on front of pack in a similar way to the recent moves in nutrition – and how much more they would be willing to pay!