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Consumers Want to Know How Fresh a Product Is

2008-03-13

The majority of American consumers (60%) “always” look for the expiration date according to a new report released by The Hartman Group

BELLEVUE, WA – March 13, 2008 – New findings from a national survey examining label reading behavior finds the American consumer’s desire for higher quality food products has implications extending into freshness standards. Among 16 different package components tested, the first and third most frequently examined label elements relate to freshness.

“The majority of American consumers ‘always’ look for expiration dates while close to half of consumers ‘always’ look at the freshness or ‘made on’ date, said Laurie Demeritt, President and COO of The Hartman Group, Inc, a leading consumer insights firm. “Many shoppers express frustration with locating freshness related information such as the expiration, ‘made on’ or ‘sell by’ date. Ditto on the frustration front when it comes trying to decipher elements of the nutrition facts panel because of variations in product properties (e.g., total calories) in relation to serving size that vary by product type, brand or category.”

The findings are published in The Hartman Group’s Pulse Report: Label Reading from a Consumer Perspective. The report examines whether or not consumers are reading labels more often now than in the past, which elements of a label are looked at most often, on which occasions are consumers most likely to read labels, and which symbols do consumers recognize, understand and trust.

“Consumers take label reading seriously and examine labels according to their personal lifestyle priorities,” said Demeritt. “The importance of these elements comes from consumers’ need to understand what’s in the box.”

For More Information:
Blaine Becker
Director, Marketing & Communications
The Hartman Group, Inc.
(425) 452-0818, ext. 124
blaine@hartman-group.com
Web site: www.hartman-group.com/home

About the Report
Pulse Report: Label Reading from a Consumer Perspective presents the current consumer view on the complex issues surrounding the range of words, images and symbols found printed on today’s food and beverage packaging. It provides times insights on those elements of packaging that are important to consumers and why. The research for this report was conducted in October 2007 and includes a national quantitative survey with 819 respondents.

About The Hartman Group Inc.
The Hartman Group, Inc., is one of the most influential, respected and trusted providers of consumer insights and understanding in the U.S. For nearly 20 years The Hartman Group, Inc. has used its unique approach analyzing and interpreting consumers lifestyles, and how these lifestyles affect the purchase and use of today’s products and services in tomorrow’s marketplace. Their client base includes a number of Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods companies, retailers and well-known brands.

For press inquiries and further information please contact:

Blaine Becker
Senior Director, Marketing & Business Relations
blaine@hartman-group.com
425-452-0818 ext. 124

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