Consumers slam big brands’ ethical credentials

Despite the ethical market’s strong growth, consumers have blasted Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Cadbury, McDonald’s and Tesco for failing to do enough to champion ethical values, according to new market research.

As the ethical sector expanded, there was more scepticism about food companies’ efforts than ever before, concluded a study carried out among consumer focus groups, which was presented at the Food & Drink Innovation Network’s recent ethical products seminar in Birmingham.

The UK ethical foods market totalled £13.4bn in 2007 - the equivalent of 9% of all expenditure on food and drink, and this is expected to increase to more than 30% by 2012, according to Food Manufacture​’s new Ethical Food market report, compiled in association with RTS Resource.

Commenting on the market research findings, the Ethical Consumer Research Association (ECRA) said it wasn’t surprised by the results. An ECRA spokesman said: “You sometimes feel corporate PR has really pulled the wool over people’s eyes, so it’s quite reassuring to know that consumers are picking certain brands out for criticism.”

However, he warned: “While consumers are right to be cynical, the danger is that they could reject all claims. When a brand has been saddled with a particular ethical image it’s very difficult to shake.” This was supported by the research, which showed that consumers still distrusted Cadbury following its 2006 salmonella outbreak.

However, Cadbury was shocked by the findings. “Being a responsible, ethical business is integral to our values, so it would be very surprising for us to hear our consumers say that we’re not doing enough,” said corporate responsibility manager Alison Ward. She claimed the company was committed to ethical issues through projects such as the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership.

Meanwhile, Tesco wasn’t communicating its ethical strategies efficiently, said one informed source, commenting on the research’s findings. “Even though Tesco is incredibly successful, it hasn’t done anything at the level that Marks & Spencer have done, such as saying: ‘this is our manifesto for being a better brand’.”

But Tesco’s climate change manager Katherine Symonds denied there was an issue. “That’s not the experience we’ve had with our customers - they think we’re doing a good job,” she said. “I salute Marks & Spencer for what it’s done, but we’re just doing things differently.”

The Food Ethics Council’s executive director Tom MacMillan said: “Everyone in the sector needs to do more. This is a marathon: we’re only just off the starting line and even the front runners need to prove they can go the distance.”

Coca-Cola recognised that it had to do more to improve its ethical credentials. “We don’t profess to be completely perfect on this,” it said. “But we are on a journey and sustainability is a priority.”

McDonald’s and Nestlé also claimed that they were fully committed to being responsible businesses and were continuously looking to improve.