The South African bread market and consumers' willingness to adopt more sustainable options

Abstract

Wheat based bread products are a staple in many countries around the world including South Africa (Muzivi & Sunmola, 2021). This is becoming a concern as wheat, from an African perspective presents a two-fold problem. On the one hand regular wheat-based options (which are popular amongst consumers in South Africa), may lead to non-communicable diseases which is indicated to be unconducive towards consumer health. On the other hand, South Africa is a drought prone country and wheat relies heavily on water (Valizadeh, Ziaei & Mazloumzadeh, 2014). Finding innovative solutions or products to bridge this problem is not a simple task, as introducing more sustainable options tend to gain slow traction amongst consumers. To date very little is known about why consumers fail to engage with alternative bread products. This study therefore anticipated to produce empirical evidence of aspects relating to consumers’ preferences and prioritisation of product related attributes when considering bread options.

In order to meet the objectives formulated for this study a two phased methodological approach was followed. To commence a Market Quick Scan was used to provide a snapshot of the South African bread market. Results from this phase revealed that most retailers are well stocked in terms of assortment although it was noted that stores still mostly offered regular wheat options with limited alternative grain options. It was observed that prominent trends on the market were related to convenience, pleasure and health, where health options are becoming increasingly prominent on the shelves.

To gain insight about consumers’ preferences and prioritisation, a structured, self-administrated electronic questionnaire was called for. Quantitative data was collected from the respondents regarding consumer preferences, actual consumption, prioritisation of product attributes and willingness to adopt alternative bread options. Findings from this phase confirmed that currently alternative bread options (that could be deemed as more sustainable when compared to wheat) are not frequently purchased by the sample. However, in terms of consumers’ preferences and willingness to buy, results indicate that respondents show a high interest and would prefer to buy these products. These results are interpreted as a positive indication that there is a definite scope to introduce these alternatives to the market. In terms of particular product attributes, this study presented that overall, respondents tend to prioritise intrinsic over extrinsic attributes when selecting bread products. Product attributes pertaining to food safety and packaging were indicated as essential attributes to consider when trying to launch or position new products in this current market. This was an interesting point to note as previous studies highlighted the importance of taste and aroma. A possible reason for this could have been the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused a heightened sense for food safety amongst consumers.

Key recommendations from this study concluded that there is definite appetite for alternative bread products but that these options need to comply / reflect specific product characteristics in order to be successful amongst consumers. It is essential that these alternative bread products are made available and easily accessible to consumers at an affordable price. It is essential that producers and retailers include an aspect of familiarity to persuade consumers to purchase and consume these alternative bread products.