The Fresh Imperative
1
The Fresh Imperative – Executive Summary
4
In the rapidly changing Asian markets, a retailer’s Fresh Food offer is one of the most critical success factors, and a key competitive differentiator. Fresh Food Categories, such as vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish and meat are the critical store traffic and shopping frequency drivers that attract consumers and create additional opportunities for retailers to engage with their customers in other grocery categories. To get their Fresh Food offer right, retailers need information and insights into their customers and their markets. There is a need to examine all aspects of Fresh Food retail operations, from supply chain management through replenishment to assortment and marketing, and benchmark them against the market and consumer preferences. More than 50%1 of the Asian consumer’s food bill is spent on Fresh Food categories. Food will continue to be Asian consumers’ biggest single area of expenditure, and is increasing at 2.6% a year2 – faster than the rate of Asia’s population growth. Not only will Asian consumers be spending more per capita on food in the future, but there will soon be hundreds of millions more consumers. By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 700 million new consumers in Asia3. In this context, the retail industry faces twin challenges of keeping more consumers supplied, as well as satisfying their rapidly changing tastes and preferences. The Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council Asia has commissioned this study with the aim of identifying the future needs and expectations of Asian consumers across key Fresh Food categories, and to create a platform to drive Fresh Food retail excellence in the Asian region. The study began with 54 in-depth interviews and connected shopping trips across five Asian countries. It then moved to in-depth discussions with close to 1000 shoppers across the region. These discussions were selected to provide insights into the current and emerging needs and
The Fresh Imperative – Executive Summary
4
In the rapidly changing Asian markets, a retailer’s Fresh Food offer is one of the most critical success factors, and a key competitive differentiator. Fresh Food Categories, such as vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish and meat are the critical store traffic and shopping frequency drivers that attract consumers and create additional opportunities for retailers to engage with their customers in other grocery categories. To get their Fresh Food offer right, retailers need information and insights into their customers and their markets. There is a need to examine all aspects of Fresh Food retail operations, from supply chain management through replenishment to assortment and marketing, and benchmark them against the market and consumer preferences. More than 50%1 of the Asian consumer’s food bill is spent on Fresh Food categories. Food will continue to be Asian consumers’ biggest single area of expenditure, and is increasing at 2.6% a year2 – faster than the rate of Asia’s population growth. Not only will Asian consumers be spending more per capita on food in the future, but there will soon be hundreds of millions more consumers. By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 700 million new consumers in Asia3. In this context, the retail industry faces twin challenges of keeping more consumers supplied, as well as satisfying their rapidly changing tastes and preferences. The Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council Asia has commissioned this study with the aim of identifying the future needs and expectations of Asian consumers across key Fresh Food categories, and to create a platform to drive Fresh Food retail excellence in the Asian region. The study began with 54 in-depth interviews and connected shopping trips across five Asian countries. It then moved to in-depth discussions with close to 1000 shoppers across the region. These discussions were selected to provide insights into the current and emerging needs and