Breaking down the consumer trust gap
Consumer confidence is making a comeback, but the foundation remains shaky.
According to the newly released EIT Food report, The State of Trust in Europe’s Food System, trust across the supply chain has steadily ticked upward since hitting a historic low in 2023. Drawing on data from nearly 20,000 consumers across 18 European countries tracking sentiment from 2021 to 2025, the report offers crucial intelligence for food technology, processing, and ingredients professionals.
While farmers remain highly regarded at 68% trust, and retailers and caterers show modest gains, food manufacturers and public authorities continue to lag at the bottom of the spectrum. More alarming for our sector is a persistent paradox: even as trust in individual actors improves, fewer than half of Europeans are confident in the food they eat, and a mere 36% believe it is sustainable.
For engineers and product developers, the report outlines the exact leverage points needed to close this gap: transparency, competence, and care. Consumers are hyper-focused on what goes into their food and how it is processed. Suspicion regarding additives, formulation quality, and perceived corporate greenwashing are actively undermining brand loyalty. This is an explicit mandate for the ingredients and manufacturing sectors to pivot toward honest labeling, clean-label formulation, and radically open processing data.
As Klaus G. Grunert, lead of the EIT Food Consumer Observatory, notes: “Transparency, competence and care will be essential to close these gaps and support the transition towards healthier and more sustainable diets.”
To secure long-term consumer engagement, technology and processing brands must leverage smart packaging, transparent sourcing data, and clear communication. Treating transparency as a core engineering specification is the ultimate driver of market trust.
- Rodney Jack, editor, Food & Drink Technology. Keep in touch via email: [email protected] X: @foodanddrinktec or LinkedIn: Food & Drink Technology magazine.
