Food Consumers in St Petersburg – from “Social and Adventurous” to “Traditionalists"

Tuesday, 15 November 2011 10:17

The closing seminar of the Finnish food sector’s internationalization program arranged by the Food development cluster program was held on 10th of November in Helsinki. The seminar entitled “Vie älä vikise – eväitä kansainvälistymiseen” included several presentations related to important issues regarding the export of Finnish food products to European countries such as Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.

The presentations provided practical information for SMEs about how to deal with different cultures and market environments. Current and emerging food consumption trends in Europe and Russia were also discussed. In Nordic countries, “New Nordic Food” was identified as an emerging trend involving high-quality and pure Nordic raw materials integrated with the social dimensions of cooking and eating. In addition, especially in Denmark, private label healthy convenience foods and foodstuffs for children were emphasised to be as an important trend.

The pros and cons of Russian food markets for Finnish SMEs were discussed. In accordance with the theme, Dr Kyösti Pennanen from VTT gave a presentation concerning various food consumer segments in St Petersburg area. The presentation was based on the results of a study conducted by the University of Vaasa (Dr Pennanen and Professor Harri Luomala) in 2009 in St Petersburg area. In his presentation, Dr Pennanen stated that in general, St Petersburgian consumers highly appreciate Finnish food products. The study also revealed that there exist different consumer groups that differ in how they value Finnish food products. The most promising group, labelled as the “Social and Adventurous”, was found to be especially interested in the Finnish processed everyday products such as bread, bottled water and pea soup. This group also recognised the Finnish products well and evaluated their quality to be high compared to food products with other origins.

In conclusion, it is evident that food markets in St Petersburg hold potential for Finnish high quality food products. However, utilising the potential requires awareness and knowledge of the market conditions, especially for SMEs operating with limited resources.

Download Pennanen's presentation (In Finnish):
Pietarilaiset ruoan kuluttajat sosiaalisista seikkailijoista perinteisiin tankkaajiin – Näkökulmia suomalaisille pk-yrityksille

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