Especially after the revelations of recent months, triggered by the high number of infections among employees in German slaughterhouses, more and more consumers are concerned about the origin of the food they eat every day, especially meat and sausage products.
Consumers want transparency in terms of origin, nutrition and, ultimately, ethics in the killing and processing of farm animals. However, the images from German slaughterhouses were quite sobering and the 10% vegetarians in this country are being joined by more every day because they do not agree with the conditions of production and processing.
Consumer expectations have been rising for several years and, according to recent surveys, 90% of respondents say they are willing to spend more on food if the animals are kept better. 39% state that a higher standard of animal husbandry should be the most important goal for German agriculture.
Although the German government had set itself ambitious goals in this regard, the reality speaks a different language and the fight against the pandemic has caused the Agriculture Minister's ambitious targets to fall behind.
As the public learnt last month, the EU pays out the majority of its subsidies to farmers in the form of flat-rate area payments. The more arable land is farmed, the higher the subsidies from Brussels. Is this still in keeping with the times?
There are still a large number of funding pots, e.g. for the digitalisation of agriculture and the simplification of operational processes, but how much of it reaches the animals?
Many retailers are therefore focussing on regional producers in order to at least give their customers a sense of proximity and regional connection. Against the backdrop of CO2 emissions in the food supply chain, this is a logical first step that is being appreciated by consumers.
Due to this fact, Online Software AG from Weinheim has added another plus for building consumer confidence: animalwelfare.tv.
tierwohl.tv uses software that is already available in most German supermarkets and has previously been used for marketing purposes such as digital signage.
Thanks to an addition to the software, many German food retailers are now able to livestream images from the farms to the supermarkets and show customers live where products such as eggs, meat and milk are produced and how the animals are doing. Cameras are installed in the stables and on the pastures of the supplier farms and the data is transmitted directly to the supermarkets via mobile phone. In real time!
More confidence-building measures are not possible!
A survey of customers at the stores that have been using this system since the beginning of 2020 shows a high level of approval and a willingness to pay more by buying higher-quality regional products that take general animal welfare into account. A win-win situation for producers and consumers that should encourage imitation.
About the author
Volker Treffenstädt believes that respectful treatment of our farm animals should be a matter of course and that improving consumer confidence in product information is only possible through significantly greater transparency. In this context, he is passionately committed to the live stream solution tierwohl.tv. The management consultant can look back on many years of management experience in retail and is dedicated to the core topics of e-commerce and multichannel.
Volker Treffenstädt
Competence centre centre tierwohl.tv sales
M: +49 171 5200079
volker.treffenstaedt@blue-lava.com
www.tierwohl.tv