How it started

VLAM, the Flemish agency who market and promote Flemish agriculture, horticulture, fisheries, and the agri-food sector, aimed to deeply understand Flemish consumers’ attitudes and habits regarding fresh foods and horticulture. They wanted to explore consumer behaviour in purchasing and consuming fresh foods, trends in food purchasing behaviour, and the impact of campaigns in promoting local products. To do this, they wanted to include insights from both the average Flemish consumers and specific subgroups like Gen Z.

How we inspired change

From 2013 to 2023, we managed the ‘Marktmaker’ online research community for VLAM, engaging 100 Flemish consumers aged 18-64. This community provided valuable insights into consumer’s motivations and behaviours. Over the years, we studied patterns of consumption for products like eggs, baked goods, fish, cheese, meat, plants, and out-of-home dining.

We also tested several campaigns including ‘lekker van bij ons’ (‘Deliciously local’), aimed at promoting local fresh products. In addition to the long-standing community work, we optimized other initiatives such as ‘groen van bij ons’ (‘Locally sourced greenery’) and ‘de week van de friet’ (‘French Fry Week’).

One notable success in inspiring change was using the Lookback tool to evaluate and enhance the ‘Lekker van bij ons’ (‘Deliciously local’) website, improving the user experience for consumers.

How it lives on

In April 2024, VLAM published a book on the 5G mix, a framework for understanding food purchasing and consumption behaviours. This book features studies from the Marktmaker community, offering explanations of the factors driving consumer choices in food aisles. One example includes the six rules of thumb that Flemish consumers use to define healthy food.