Roy Morgan Research has profiled the six per cent of people who are more likely to buy Chinese-manufactured food products.
These consumers are less likely to be concerned about whether food is fattening, genetically modified, or additive-free compared to people who are more likely to buy food labelled ‘Made in Australia’.
They’re also more likely to buy frozen or chilled ready-made meals, takeaway food, and to avoid dairy products when possible, the researcher says.
The six per cent of Australians 14+ who say they’d be more likely to buy food labelled ‘Made in China’ is almost unchanged from five per cent in 2013, and this minority group tends to have quite distinct attitudes to food, the researcher has found.
In contrast, the proportion of people more likely to buy food if it is labelled ‘Made in Australia’ has increased from 85 per cent to 88 per cent over the last two years.
Australians who are more likely to buy food manufactured in China also tend generally to be younger. Aussies aged under-35 are dramatically more likely than their older counterparts to buy a food product if it is labelled ‘Made in China’ according to Roy Morgan.
“We’ve been aware for some time that younger Australians tend to be more open to buying products made in countries other than Australia. Growing up in the digital age, they are used to having the international marketplace at their fingertips, courtesy of online retailers," says Michele Levine, CEO, Roy Morgan Research.
“Products manufactured in China are often considerably cheaper than goods made in many other countries including Australia, an added incentive for young people who may still be studying or earning a low wage.
“Of course, where someone was born has some bearing on their attitudes to goods manufactured in different countries, and our data shows that Aussies who were born in Asia are more likely than those born in Australia to buy food products labelled ‘Made in China’. However, the vast majority of Asian-born Australians are still more likely to buy food made in Australia,” Levine says.
“It will be interesting to see whether attitudes to Chinese-manufactured food products shift in the wake of the recent Hepatitis scare caused by frozen berries imported from China. Certainly, the call for clearer country-of-origin food labelling has never been more relevant.”
