Red Tractor adds more to product quality than British alone – latest research

Red Tractor has an ambition to understand shoppers and diners better.  Our research focus for the last two years has been to determine the value of Red Tractor to the consumer, the retailer and foodservice operator and of course, our licensees.

In 2021 we commissioned consumer research to quantify the impact the Red Tractor logo has on product quality perceptions and purchase intent when it is included in advertising and Point of Sale material.  The research was conducted with almost 20,000 main shoppers and diners, across all the product categories Red Tractor operates in, for both retail and food service.  It showed that product quality perceptions increase by up to 20 percentage points and purchase consideration by up to 13 percentage points when the Red Tractor logo is present, demonstrating the value of Red Tractor to the shopper and the retailer or foodservice operator.

However, we still did not fully understand what ‘product quality’ really means to consumers. What factors do they take into consideration? And what does the Red Tractor logo uniquely add to their understanding of product quality?

So, in early 2023, we commissioned a consumer research project to explore this in more depth. The research was conducted with more than 14,000 main shoppers and the results are just out.

This new research shows that the Red Tractor logo adds more to shoppers’ perceptions of product quality than British provenance alone – and these measures increase significantly when shoppers are given a small amount of information about who Red Tractor are, what we do and how we do it.

The research also demonstrates that there is a significant halo effect for retailers by utilising the Red Tractor logo, because it makes shoppers feel they can trust both the retailer and the quality of the products purchased.

The cost-of-living crisis is having a significant impact on shopper buying behaviour and the 2022 Trust in Food Survey suggested that as they switch price tier, retailer or restaurant, consumers assume standards will be lower. But crucially, our new research shows that the Red Tractor logo reassures shoppers about product quality in these circumstances too.

There’s lots more detail we can share with you from this research, so if you would like to find out more, please contact the Red Tractor Marketing team at marketing@redtractor.org.uk.