Frequently asked questions

If you would like to find out more about the” Who Buys My Food” DEFRA project, please feel free to contact us. However, some of your questions may be found below – just click on the appropriate question to find out the answer.

Where does the data come from?

Due to our unique funding, we are able to purchase shopper insight data from dunnhumby.

Dunnhumby are a leading market research company that provide data based on a popular supermarket loyalty card scheme. The data is based on 2 years of weekly supermarket purchases, monitoring the purchasing habits of 17 million UK shoppers. The data is representative of 40% of UK houselds and can look at over 30,000 products.

Why should I use the data?

The VCR² Shopper Insight Service can help you identify market or product opportunities. Getting the right answer to your questions will help you make better business decisions and plan marketing strategies.

The data can be used to inform decisions about new product development, promotional campaigns, product ranging, packaging design and marketing communications.

What are the benefits?

The VCR² Shopper Insight Service helps you to target your products more effectively. For examples of success stories, please read our case studies.

What will the data look like?

The data is prepared by staff in the Centre For Value Chain Research. An individual business report will be presented in powerpoint format with easy to read charts and tables.

We will provide an executive summary and insights to what the data is showing. If you have any questions concerning your specific report please do not hesitate to contact us.

Why should I attend a workshop if I can get the data just by sending an email?

The data itself is useless if you don't know what to do with it. By attending a workshop, you will be provided with the necessary insight to understand and work with the dunnhumby data more effectively.

Other benefits include the opportunity to work with a variety of consultants, including ex-supermarket buyers and the opportunity to network with other small food and drink manufacturers in your area.

Will it cost me anything?/How are you able to do this for free?

The Centre For Value Chain Research is an academic institution. Funding from DEFRA, the AHDB and other organizations helps us to provide free consumer insight and marketing training to farmers and small businesses across the UK and Northern Ireland.

I don't supply a supermarket - why should I care?

The dunnhumby data that we use to prepare our shopper insight reports is the largest and most detailed resource of its kind in the world. The data is considered to be representative of all UK shoppers and has applications outside of supermarket listings. For example, we have helped a number of farm shops make merchandising and product ranging decisions.

Is my company eligible to receive free shopper insight reports/join the CIN/attend CIN events?

To access the free shopper insight service, your company must have a turnover of less than £10m and employ fewer than 50 people. If your organization exceeds this threshold, we will have to discuss your eligibility with dunnhumby.

To be eligible for our Shopper Insight Service you must be a small farmer or food producer (Turnover less than £10m and fewer than 50 Employees) and you must fall into one of the following criteria:

Be a farmer or producer from a sector serviced by a Phd Studentship (Currently meat and cereals)
Be a small local food supplier to Tesco
Be involved in a funded Research Project