The Flemish agricultural sector is strongly focused on the classical Western consumer, while 1 in 5 Belgians has an ethnic background. During the Agriflanders exhibition in Gent, VLAM held a seminar about multicultural marketing. Various speakers gave their insight in the purchase and eating behavior of Muslim consumers and how entrepreneurs can take advantage of this.
Turkish and Moroccan consumers
Lies Vandaele, research agency Ipsos: "There are many Muslim consumers and most come from Morocco or Turkey." The research agency has conducted a study into the shopping behavior of Turkish and Moroccan consumers. "One of the most remarkable results is that families which are economically better off, are freer in dealing with outside influences, and spend more time on health. Eating together is very important in the Turkish and Moroccan culture, but the preparation of traditional dishes is time consuming, time which most families do not have during the work week, and so are only prepared in the weekend."
Fresh product
In Eastern cultures, fresh product is a way to show love. "These consumers hardly ever buy ready-made meals, which is seen as subpar. Still, Moroccan and Turkish consumers are open to western eating habits, and the first products from the Belgian eating culture they embraced are chips, lamb's lettuce, and chicory. When buying vegetables and fruit, the Muslim consumers pay close attention to color and smell. They want to check the product by holding it, and thus are not in favor of prepacked vegetables or fruit. A large part of the consumers feels it is not natural that a lot of the fruit and vegetables are sorted on color and size in supermarkets."
Vandaele: "Courgettes and eggplants are products the Muslim consumer would rather not buy in the supermarket. They prefer the light green courgette and light purple eggplant above the variety mostly sold in supermarkets. For this, they go to the ethnic supermarket. With fresh produce, hygiene and price also plays a large role, and research shows that the Moroccan and Turkish consumer prefers Lidl, Aldi, and Colruyt because of the low prices. They are very sensitive to promotional actions. The consumers in the city love to go to Albert Heijn because of the large assortment of exotic produce."
"Organic is no guarantee for quality"
Research shows that vegetables are more often bought in supermarkets and fruit more often in the ethnic supermarket because of the larger assortment of exotic products. Lies: "Herbs are mainly bought in the ethnic supermarket, because they are offered in larger volumes." Good labeling is very important for the Muslim consumer, because they need to see if it is halal. The knowledge about halal, however, is limited, and they rely mostly on brands or people. Organic is not important for this consumer, and they have little confidence in organic products. Organic does not guarantee quality.
Lies: "The Moroccan and Turkish consumers are a reachable group for companies. The economic situation causes the largest differences between consumers. The Moroccan eating culture is a mix of different influences, in contrast to the Turkish culture. Both consumers often buy in large, because eating together is very important in the cultures. So the Muslim consumer often buys with the cheaper supermarkets. It is very important to understand the group, because the group is getting bigger in Belgium."