Dairy consumers are more interested in feeling confident about the quality assurance of the products they buy than in getting a cheap price.
They can also be quite discerning about how cows’ diets can affect the taste of the final dairy product.
These are the findings of online survey of UK adults, looking at their attitudes and knowledge of dairy products and the dairy industry, their purchasing and consumption habits, and the drivers behind them.
The consumer survey was part of ongoing research on dairy and its consumers carried out by academic Hattie Bracey, who is based at the University of Glasgow, and her PhD is part-funded by ForFarmers UK and Valorex, with additional collaboration with Bleu-Blanc-Coeur.
Data was collected between November 2021 and March 2022, and collated responses from 706 UK adults.
Bracey spoke about the findings at the recent Methane Connect conference in Paris.
She told Agriland: “The main aims of the project were to find out what the respondents know about dairy production and the nutritional qualities of milk, their perceptions towards dairy farmers and the industry, how their knowledge and attitudes affect purchasing and consumption behaviours, and if there is a willingness to purchase milk with improved nutritional qualities and sustainability.
Key findings
The researcher said that the findings were “really interesting”.
“Respondents showed a positive attitude towards dairy farmers,” she said.
“Many of them felt that the dairy industry is important for UK food security, has higher animal welfare standard than other countries, and produces a nutritionally important product.”
Another finding, sometimes overlooked, is the breadth of uses that consumers have for dairy products.
“Not so much as surprising, but I was really interesting looking into how dairy is consumed, because often we aren’t just drinking milk, we are having it in our tea, on cereal, cooking with it,” said Bracey.
“Then, if you add in all the other dairy products, you realise how many foods and how often we’re consuming milk in its various forms.”
The number one concern was price, but quality played a big part too.
“Generally, price is the most important factor,” Bracey said.
“But our respondents also looked out for quality assurance branding, especially statements about animal welfare and fair prices for farmers, as well as where the milk came from.”
Cows’ diet
One of the most interesting and surprising results, according to Bracey, was when she blind-tested products from cows with different diets.
“There’s good evidence showing that cows’ diets can affect some of the sensory and physiochemical attributes of milk and derivative products,” she said.
“In one of my studies, we conducted a blinded comparative taste test of milks where the cows had slightly different diets and found that the participants tended to have a preference for one product over the other.”
Cost
While value for money is often cited as a key consumer consideration, Hattie’s survey found that consumers were willing to pay more for a better product.
“I don’t think it’s surprising,” she said.
“People want to do good; they want to buy something that isn’t harming animals, their health, or the planet’s health, and also supports local economies.”
Hattie hopes to have the findings published “in due course”.
“However,” she added, “we are still recruiting for our dairy industry survey, which is open to anyone working in the industry – producers, processors, etc..
The dairy industry survey can be found at the University of Glasgow website, under the name Dairy & You.
