MSC survey reveals drop in US eco-label awareness

Awareness in Canada – another data point left out of the MSC's original news release – also dropped, from 22 percent in 2010 to 19 percent in 2012.

So what happened in North America? After all, awareness was on the rise in the United States in 2010, having jumped from 9 percent in 2008 to 23 percent that year, according to the MSC's calculations.

“What I think we’re seeing is a little bit of settling – it was a huge jump to 23 percent (in 2010),” Simon Edwards, global marketing director for the MSC, told IntraFish. “The BP oil spill had just happened, and perhaps people were aware of environmental issues. I think what’s great to see is that it has not dropped back down.”

The MSC has had some notable success in the United States and Canada, he said.

“Loblaw, Whole Foods, Target have done campaigns,” Edwards said. “So we’re starting to get very palpable support there as well.”

Loblaw, Canada’s largest retailer, posted sales of $30.6 billion (€24.8 billion) in 2012 and ranks 6th on the list of North American food retailers in terms of sales, but it has no US locations.

In the United States, the MSC’s campaigns have yet to reach a significant segment of the population, considering Target did not make the list of top 75 retailers in the United States in 2011, and Whole Foods ranked 19th, with sales of $9 billion (€ billion), that year. That is a small piece of the US supermarket pie when considering the top retailer – Wal-Mart – made $311 billion (€252 billion). Kroger is second at $81.1 billion (€65.7 billion), and Costco is third at $77.9 billion (€63.1 billion). Even Safeway, the fourth highest grossing retailer, has sales that are over four times those of Whole Foods.

Yet there are signs of future promise for the MSC in the United States, said Edwards. Ivy League (IL) universities – which house tomorrow’s thought leaders – have taken an interest. Recently, the IL's Cornell University became MSC certified. If the MSC decides to take on further outreach efforts with universities, there could be more.

“We have the manpower and resources to go out and talk to groups like Sodexo, who then have universities on their portfolios,” Edwards said.

Yet overall numbers show the MSC's lack of progress on increasing eco-label awareness in the United States is far from a larger global trend. The nation lagged far behind other western countries over the past two years.

Awareness of the eco-label shot from 36 percent to 55 percent in Germany and from 18 percent to 31 percent in the United Kingdom, the MSC said. And in both Sweden and the Netherlands, awareness has increased 10 percent in just a year’s time, to 38 percent and 44 percent respectively.

What explains the data disparity? Edwards lists several factors – a recent increase in MSC products in European countries over the past few years is a major reason. For instance, there has been a 53 percent increase in the number of MSC products available in Germany over the past 12 months, he said.

Consumer awareness of environmental issues is another advantage in Europe. Environmental issues are part of public conversations. Not only are there entire political parties dedicated to environmental issues in European nations, attracting media coverage, there are television shows dedicated to them, such as the British television series River Cottage, hosted by food campaigner, chef and author Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

“These are areas where environmental issues are part of the political agenda,” Edwards said. "The support for eco-labels has been high for a long time. They’re much, much more mature markets.”

The MSC's data is based on surveys of 600 people in each country, conducted by AMR Marketing Research. The sample size allows for a confidence level of 95 percent with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. The survey -- which focuses only on consumers who buy seafood at least once every two months -- is conducted every two years.