Canadian Dairy Xpo: Consumer support for buying Canadian dairy rises
Glacier FarmMedia—The buy-Canada movement is boosting the reputation of Canadian dairy products.
David Hudson of IMI International, a global consumer tracking company, says there’s growing support for Canadian dairy products – even above the lofty levels of support of the past 10 years.
“Cutting through the noise, there is a lot of love for Canadian dairy farmers,” he said at the recent Dairy Business Summit put on by the Canadian Dairy XPO in Stratford on April 1.
The overall sentiment towards dairy farmers in Canada has risen from 74 per cent very positive or somewhat positive in January to 81 per cent very positive or somewhat positive in March.
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He says the positive sentiment is expressed across all age demographics.
Support for dairy farmers isn’t new and has been high for the almost 10 years the company has been tracking it in Canada. What’s different is the increases in the past few months.
Hudson also showed numbers that illustrated growth in people’s intent to purchase Canadian products. A recent survey showed that 34 per cent of Americans purchased products because they were made in the U.S.A., whereas Canadians’ purchase of Canadian products jumped 11 per cent in a week to 63 per cent. Hudson says he expects the next survey will show Canadians’ commitment to Canadian products will jump to 80 per cent.
Opportunities with new Canadians
There were close to 500,000 new immigrants arriving in Canada in 2024, which represents new market opportunities, says Hudson. The federal government has since lowered the number of immigrants coming in the future, but those who are now here are committed to using dairy products.
New immigrants from parts of Asia are more committed to cooking with dairy than other Canadians, but Hudson said to make sure to give them the dairy products they are used to, along with introducing them to new ones.
That follows the trend seen by Quality Cheese, where they are making more paneer, a cooking cheese popular in India. Albert Borgo, said at the dairy business summit that the company he owns with his brothers is working on more ethnic dairy products, as the company expands capacity at its Orangeville plant.
He says there’s real interest in higher protein products in the marketplace and some people are getting that from dairy products.
New immigrants are more interested in quality than quantity and aren’t as focused on price as other Canadians, says Hudson.
“The freshness of dairy is likely to resonate with newcomers,” he says.
Source: Farmtario.com