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HB Fruitgrowers Association

What are consumers looking for in the future. – Jonathan Brookes AgFirst HB Ltd

The NZ AgFirst Consultants team celebrated 30 years of business a couple of weeks back with a celebratory conference in Japan.

We visited the World Expo and I found some interesting learnings in the technology zone and how the future was being portrayed to the thousands of people that were heading through each day for the 6 months of the Expo. This is a snippet of what I found interesting.

In the technology zone Kids were being directed to learn through technology and play and were specifically targeted in the content of the new technology zone.

One of the presentations called Society 5.0 dream world – Food and Agriculture.

Below is a brief description of what was being described to thousands of kids as the future.

This was presented as a video by a young child with cartoon backup from a virtual restaurant.

• Farm to table happens in one place, focus on reliable transportation, we are one that team works in harmony with technologies.
• Everyone works together to make delicious dishes with the magic word (food). Please remember the word (food) The team is the makers, the deliverers, the eaters – Food is gifts from nature.

From the growers –

• We grow gifts with smiles, leave the crop picking to us, using big data to control the crops.

Now for the ace salesperson (the marketers) –

• I’m delivering the farmers’ vegetables, delivering them to you with no waste or effort

Now let me introduce our chef –

• The freshest ingredients, to end food waste, eat what you want how you want, it’s great.

Food is treasure that connects us

The makers, the deliverers, the eaters. Lets join hands – Make us happy for our whole lives

The magic word – Food

There is a new generation of consumers around the world that is being told that good food is part of the solution for the future. As growers we need to continue to be aware that these future consumers are also aware it needs to be grown and transported with good environmental credentials it needs to be high production (plentiful), of high quality and will need to have a real focus on being gentle on the environment.

The consumers of the future are becoming more aware of (being told) what they want. It was also interesting to note that further on in the technology pavilion the final slide states. “Advancements in agritech make both the consumers and producers happy” – Does your orchard business match these future consumer perceptions?