40 / SEEDWORLD.COM SEPTEMBER 2017 cent of participants said they did but when observed, only 3 percent did. On top of that, he says the aver- age consumer spends about four seconds per shelf making decisions about what they need to put in their cart. This group, he says, relies on the deeply engaged consumer to figure out what they should be buying. “All consumers want to do better,” Weibold says. “They want to know more about their food and the environment, but they don’t know who to trust.” Mistrust Around Food He shares that brands have let con- sumers down, and science hasn’t done much better. As a result, consumers are confused and are reverting to nature and going with their gut. “It makes sense for them: the less processed food is, the closer it is to nature … and the more I can trust it.” That brings us to transparency. “We are firm believers in transparency; we have nothing to hide,” Verner says. “We want people to understand where their food comes from and how it’s made. We find that people are curious about that.” But she adds that most are far removed from the farm. “If you asked a person how many ears of corn grow on a stalk of corn, you probably won’t get the answer of ‘one,’” she says. To sort through all the confusion and information, Weibold says consumers are looking for shortcuts to help them make buying decisions. Decision Aids “The (labels) they see or go with are the symbols on packaging: organic, non-GMO and grass-fed,” he explains. “Consumers who don’t know [about their food] use these symbols to help make decisions about what they can trust and what they should put in their cart to help feed their families.” Another way consumers are connecting to their food source is through farmers markets. Weibold says there are about 8,000 farmers mar- kets in operation in the United States, up from about 1,800 in the mid-1990s. In fact, he says consumers spend about $1 billion per year at farmers markets. “Those connections are real,” Weibold says. “We as a food company know that memories are built around food people trust.” media. They are talking. Their voices are strong, and the passionate ones are very influential. Cargill’s Verner adds that food has the opportunity to bring people together. “It’s something we all have in common,” she says. “We all have to eat … and it’s a very personal thing. People care about what’s in their food.” One trend Verner references to is being “pantry friendly,” meaning when you look in the pantry, you see oil, flour, sugar and salt — things you know and recognize. “When consumers read labels, they want to see friendly names or ingredients that they know and recognize,” she says. Weibold shares that consumers can basically be divided into two groups, those who are deeply engaged and those who want to be but don’t take the time. Consumers who are deeply engaged in the food discussion are actively researching and spending more time and more money on their food, he says. “They are asking questions,” Weibold says. “When they find their answers and form their opinions, [they] use their ability to communicate broadly. “For a food company like ours, we pay close atten- tion to the attitudes and opinions that come out of these groups. They are not always based on science. They are not always accurate, but they are influential. That makes them important.” When looking at the second group of consumers, Weibold explains these consumers know they should know more and should be working harder to under- stand food, but they don’t make the time. Cargill, in partnership with another company, recently completed a study in the yogurt aisle asking consumers if they read labels. Weibold says 70 per- “It makes sense for them: the less procesed food is, the closer it is to nature ... and the more I can trust it.” — Jenny Verner 8,000 farmers markets operate in the United States. 4 seconds per shelf is the average time consumers spend deciding what to put in their cart.