Part 4. You will hear part of a food science lecture on fashions in food. First, you have some time to look at questions 31 to 40. Now listen carefully and answer questions 31 to 40.
There are trends in food much as there are trends in clothing. Interest in food fashions has risen rapidly since the birth of the smartphone, when people first began taking photos of their food and instantly sharing them with their friends. The food industry in the UK in particular is obsessed with finding and exploiting the next big food trend.
Marketeers aim to create a huge demand for a food item which was previously unknown or not needed. One of the most effective ways of promoting a new food product is by using social media influencers as brand ambassadors. In return for free samples, many influencers will post content about a product, although there are influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers who can command large fees for their services.
Companies which sell vegan produce were pioneers in being able to increase sales really quickly in this way. For a food item to become really popular, it has to be readily available, so supermarkets have a role to play in creating a new food trend. They have dedicated teams closely following which new products or ingredients are trending on social media and are particularly interested in what well-known chefs are putting on their menus.
I'd like to look at a few examples of marketing campaigns which were really successful in launching a new fashion trend. Starting in the 1990s with the avocado. A British PR company was hired to raise its profile and stimulate demand.
They paid for a group of journalists to travel out to South Africa to meet avocado farmers. Articles written following this visit helped to educate the British public about the avocado, which at this time was certainly not the daily staple it's since become. Advertisements were designed to promote the avocado as a superfood, rich in nutrients and therefore beneficial for health.
Avocados became hugely fashionable and within a few years, UK avocado sales had grown from £13 million annually to around £150 million, making it one of the most successful fresh produce campaigns in UK history. Oat milk is a recent example of a new product which became fashionable very quickly. Now there are many brands available, but one company which had early success was the Swedish brand Oatly.
They attracted a lot of attention with a media campaign which used provocation as a way of getting their message across effectively. The fact that this campaign aggravated competitors producing milk from dairy cows was seen as a plus as it helped to make oat milk seem cool. In the USA, the brand decided against a big retail launch in favour of getting the product into coffee chains, which removed the need for a big advertising budget.
This proved far more effective than offering samples in supermarkets. Oat milk had an advantage over other alternative milk products such as almond milk. Many consumers prefer it because it has less of an impact on the environment.
It requires significantly less water to produce than other alternative milk products and it also has a relatively low carbon footprint. Norwegian Skre, a rarely available seasonal fish delicacy otherwise known as Arctic Cod, is now found on the menus of Michelin-starred restaurants throughout Europe. The demand for Skre has been used by a food marketing agency to build the reputation of Norway's fisheries in general.
Marketing surveys have shown that a significant number of shoppers now associate Norway with excellent seafood. Food trends can be considered a good thing in some ways as they can benefit farmers and food producers enormously. The public can also be encouraged to buy things which are more sustainably produced.
But ethical concerns have been raised about the effects a surge in demand can cause. Quinoa is a classic example. This plant is native to Peru and when demand peaked some years ago, the price soared, making it unaffordable for local people.
While the popularity of quinoa has benefited farmers financially, there have been other negative consequences. As demand grew, farmers began working the land all year round in order to produce more quinoa. One issue has been that the fertility of the soil decreased dramatically, which could potentially lead to desertification in some areas.
Another example would be the case of...