With consumers thinking about both indulgence and charity, the festive period could be the ideal time for retailers to be promoting ethical food products

What does the festive season mean to you? It’s the sort of question one becomes used to in debates about the ever-escalating commercialisation of Christmas and other end-of-year festivals.

No strangers to that debate are the supermarket chains that are often accused of fuelling the orgy of consumption. However, a time of year associated with both indulgence and charity is arguably an ideal opportunity for retailers to emphasise their ethical credentials.

So, are consumers looking for more ethical food products at this time of year?

Arguably the best place to begin is with the centrepiece of many culinary experiences, the turkey. The concentration of turkey sales in the UK at Christmas – and in the US around Thanksgiving at the end of November – itself exacerbates welfare concerns. Intensive seasonal rearing, sometimes by farmers inexperienced in keeping turkeys, can result in unacceptable conditions while the practice of debeaking has long been a concern of campaigners.

However, according to the RSPCA’s animal welfare certification scheme, Freedom Food, sales of higher-welfare turkey are increasing steadily. The number of birds in the scheme rose from about 1m in 2009 to 1.4m in 2010.

Better birds

Freedom Food accounts for 8% of the UK turkey sector but chief executive Leigh Grant says this rises to about 20% at Christmas when sales of whole birds, as distinct from turkey-derived processed foods, peak.

Salmon also has a Christmas spike. According to Grant, Freedom Food now accounts for 59% of Scottish salmon, which “does particularly well at Christmas” because of its quality, premium image.

Sales of Freedom Food pork, also on the rise in recent years, are concentrated on primal cuts during the year, but at Christmas sales of Freedom Food bacon and hams increase.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents the major retailers, says he expects sales of higher-welfare turkeys to “hold up pretty well” in 2011 in spite of generally higher prices resulting from increased grain costs.

Grant forecasts Freedom Food turkey sales will be on a par with 2010, but expects continued growth in Freedom Food salmon and pork. He says there is now “a lot of interest” in higher-welfare from all the major retailers because they have found that “it sells products” and provides an opportunity for them to show their “core values”.

Mia Fernyhough, UK food business manager at Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), says there has been “really positive engagement” in the campaigner’s retail liaison work from Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s and the Co-operative, and that Asda and Tesco are also “very much involved”.

CIWF is also carrying out similar engagement work in other countries and says retailers in markets including France, Italy, Germany and Australia are following the lead set by UK supermarket chains. “We’re definitely seeing the retailers on the continent and in Australia looking to the trends in the UK,” says CIWF spokeswoman Katy Read.

Turkey and salmon are not the only seasonal foods where the ethical sector has become more prominent. Indeed, one of the primary drivers of the Fairtrade boom has been chocolate.

Mike Gidney, deputy executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, believes consumers see buying Fairtrade products at Christmas as an opportunity to “support companies that are doing the right thing”.

Choccy treats

There are numerous other Fairtrade products with particular festive appeal, such as fruits and nuts. In fact, the range of relevant Faitrade offerings is so extensive that ethical trade specialist Traidcraft markets Fairtrade hampers, a gift idea also promoted by the Fairtrade Foundation itself.

There are some interesting Christmas specialities. For example, the Co-operative markets a Fairtrade Christmas pudding, while Fairtrade chocolate brand Divine produces its own chocolate money, an ethical and ironic variant on another Christmas staple.

The Co-operative has just relaunched and extended its offering of Fairtrade wines, with the Christmas market in mind. The retailer already has a 66% share of the UK Fairtrade wine market. “Sustainably-sourced products, higher-welfare and Fairtrade products are of importance to Co-operative customers and our Christmas range reflects this,” says the Co-op’s Michelle Henderson.

Retailer engagement in seasonal ethical products appears particularly advanced in the UK. While Fairtrade Australia says increasing ethical consumerism is reflected in consumers’ purchasing decisions over Christmas, with a “jump in sales” during the holiday period. The organisation’s business development officer, Daniel Mackey, says: “So far there has not been a lot of activity on the part of the larger retailers promoting Fairtrade as part of their Christmas promotions. We hope that as product availability increases and more consumers indicate their support for Fairtrade-certified products this will change.”

Meanwhile, Fair Trade USA says that while there has been double-digit growth of Fairtrade products for the year, it is yet to see “a significant increase” in ethical food and drinks products around Christmas. However, some chocolate, coffee, and tea companies have introduced “holiday-specific” offerings.

Proxy for premium

Notwithstanding the growth in ethical consumerism in the UK, it is possible consumers are not seeking out ethical alternatives as such, but landing on a more ethical product because they are looking for something special for Christmas.

The hierarchy of motivations is hard to gauge, though Quentin Clark, head of sustainability and ethical sourcing at Waitrose, believes consumers may often be trading up for quality reasons. “I’m not convinced they’re trading up on ethical grounds. At Christmas we want to eat as well as we can afford and want to treat ourselves. That’s probably the bigger motivation, actually.”

Opie points out that while sustainability is “a 12-month-a-year thing” for retailers, Christmas is a time when issues such as animal welfare and Fairtrade feature more prominently because consumers perceive such products as offering higher quality.

Verdict Research analyst Cliona Lynch believes there is “certainly a charitable element” in the purchases but that indulgence is the dominant motivation. She adds that knowing “where the product has come from” is important to consumers at Christmas.

Indeed, Gidney says growing consumer interest in provenance has been a key driver in the expansion of Fairtrade, and this comes to the fore at Christmas when consumers are looking for something special.

Overall, ethical concerns represent “added value” to today’s consumers, Lynch says, which has particular relevance at Christmas.

The fascinating aspect here – and one that makes ethical products different from other premium offerings and a Christmas win-win for retailers – is that ethical purchases can satisfy the consumer demand for premium indulgence while also providing the seasonal salve for the conscience that motivates consumers during the festive season.

On the other hand, Clark stresses that ethical choices do not necessarily mean premium prices, pointing out that the turkey in Sainsbury’s value Essentials range is an “entry point” product but still produced to higher welfare standards.

Waitrose artfully looks both ways on pricing, careful to preserve its premium appeal to higher spending customers while also stressing that it can compete with the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury’s on price with initiatives such as the Essentials range and price matching.

However, just as Waitrose seeks to take customers from Tesco and Sainsbury’s by competing on price, the bigger chains are concerned their shoppers may migrate to M&S or Waitrose in search of indulgence.

Christmas tarts

Rising “promiscuity” at Christmas is not a reference to the office party season but an allusion to the fact that people are inclined to shop at different places at this time of year, presenting supermarkets with both an opportunity and a risk.

Location, a particularly effective Christmas advertising campaign, opening hours or the search for something different may all result in consumers departing from their customary shopping behaviour. As ethical considerations now feature in a matrix of consumer motivations, quite possibly coming to the fore at Christmas, this is an area all the chains need to address.

Waitrose, M&S and the Co-operative were early adopters of ethical products and consequently have a strong presence in the sector. Of the larger, mainstream chains, the one that has established the strongest reputation is Sainsbury’s, which took a strong lead on Fairtrade and is the UK’s largest supplier of Freedom Food.

However, aware that consumers may be tempted to shop at Waitrose or M&S at Christmas, the likes of Asda and Tesco have to act pre-emptively by increasing their offer of premium products. Lynch says this means the mainstream chains may also take on more ethical and higher-welfare products at Christmas.

While there are clearly enhanced opportunities for ethical products at Christmas, retailers appear strangely reticent about making too much of this, possibly concerned that it will be seen as opportunistic. This is rather odd. One look at their advertising campaigns provides ample proof that capitalising on the Christmas spirit is just about all any of them are thinking about at that time of year.

There was not much enthusiasm from UK chains Tesco, Asda and Morrisons when Ethical Corporation contacted them.

Morrisons made no comment, and the company barely received a mention from any of the third parties, NGOs or charities on the subject.

Tesco says the sourcing of more ethical and sustainable products is part of a long-term strategy and is “not something we would approach differently over any season within the year”. Asda was at pains to point out that its commitments were “year-round” and also made no other comment on the enhanced marketability of ethical products at Christmas.

Sainsbury’s also appeared to play down the idea of focusing on ethical goods at Christmas, even though its leadership in the Fairtrade and Freedom Food sectors clearly puts it in a strong position. Sainsbury’s says it aims “to provide our customers with sustainable, affordable, quality products all year round, and this of course carries through to our Christmas ranges”. It said its Fairtrade confectionery range “sells very well at this time of year”.

Mike Barry, head of sustainable business at M&S, says its Plan A eco and ethical programme was “at the heart of how we do business all year round” and that “Christmas is no exception”.

It is interesting to note that the retailers generally appear less reticent about publicising charitable activities focused on Christmas, such as M&S’s tie-up with Shelter.

In a sense, engaging in such seasonal activity has something in common with stepping up the marketing of ethically sourced foods. It allows consumers to exercise some festive generosity and shows the retailer’s ethical credentials.

However, it also offers the added, extremely attractive advantage of enhanced premium sales opportunities. For that reason alone, shoppers can expect ethical products to continue growing in prominence at festive seasons in years to come.

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The rise and rise of Fairtrade

• According to Fairtrade International, global sales of Fairtrade products rose by 27% in 2010 to €4.36bn, the most recent available figures.
• The UK is the largest market with estimated retail sales of €1.3bn, up 40% on 2009.
• Principal markets in 2010: Germany €340m (+27%), France €303m (+5%), Switzerland €220m (+12%), Ireland €138m (+16%), the Netherlands €119m (+39%), the US €937m (+5%), and Australia and New Zealand €126m (+258%).
• A survey of 17,000 consumers carried out for Fairtrade International by GlobeScan in 2011 showed that Fairtrade is the most widely recognised ethical label globally, with 57% of people across 24 countries saying they had seen the Fairtrade mark.
• In the UK, 50% of consumers said they purchased Fairtrade products at least once a month.