Research Identifies Food Influencers Setting Trends

Using a research methodology called digital ethnography, “Inside the Minds of Influencers: The Truth About Trust” from the Center for Food Integrity (CFI) identifies influential consumer groups and the motivations that not only dictate food trends, but drive conversations that impact the decisions of others as they make choices at the grocery store or form opinions about the products, processes, people, and brands that define today’s food system. Research provides deeper insights into influencers including unspoken motivations, values, top-of-mind issues, emotional triggers, preferred social channels and sources, behaviors, and trusted brands. The research goes beyond surveying what people say they do to demonstrating what they are actually doing. Digital ethnography pinpoints why consumers form beliefs and develop behaviors around food, and the “why” speaks to what they value. CFI says communicating with values is three-to-five times more important to earning trust than simply communicating facts and science. These insights are aimed to help food companies build trust by meeting consumers’ expectations for transparency and engaging in a meaningful conversation about the food they buy. To download a summary of research, go to www.foodintegrity.org.