A study undertaken by Irish trade publication Checkout, in association with market analysts Behaviour & Attitudes, has found that Kerrygold butter is the brand that those that have left Ireland ‘miss the most’ about their homeland.
The fifth annual ‘Diaspora Decides’ study asked returned Irish emigrants to identify which brand or brands they missed the most when residing in a foreign country.
In total, 57% of the 303 returned Irish emigrants surveyed said that they missed Kerrygold while overseas, while 29% said they missed the brand ‘a lot’.
Tayto Crisps
Other brands missed by emigrants include Tayto, a potato crisp brand, which is missed by a total of 53% of respondents (with 30% missing it ‘a lot’), and Cadburys chocolate, which made the top brands of missed by Irish living abroad.
"It comes as no surprise that, on the brink of Christmas, for those living abroad, nostalgia sets in. Family and all things that remind the diaspora of home are on the forefront of their mind,” said Checkout news editor Donna Ahern.
“It is interesting to see that Kerrygold butter has pipped Tayto crisps to the top spot for the first time since the study, undertaken by Behaviour & Attitudes on behalf of Checkout magazine's inception five years as the most missed brand of food by Irish people living abroad.”
Battle Of The Tea Brands
Irelands favourite tea brands also made the top five on the most-missed brands. Some 23% of respondents say that they miss Barry’s Tea, a Cork-based bran ‘a lot’, with 42% missing it ‘a little’. Lyons Tea, a Unilever-owned brand is missed ‘a lot’ by 25% of respondents, and 42% miss it ‘a little’.
The research also indicated that prepacked bacon/rashers (69%) top the list of products considered to be of better quality in Ireland versus abroad. This is followed closely by other firm favourites, such as milk (62%), butter (62%), sausages (61%) and tea bags (56%).
*About The Methodology: An online survey of 303 respondents was carried out; among those who have returned to Ireland having lived abroad for at least 6 months. Fieldwork was conducted 7th – 7th November, 2017.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
