Brussels, 6 July 2026 — As food system resilience gains renewed attention in EU policy discussions ahead of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, new research from the EIT Food Consumer Observatory highlights a key challenge for the agri-food sector: consumers may care about how their food is produced, but technical terms such as “resilient” and “regenerative” agriculture are unlikely to influence food choices unless they are translated into clear, personal benefits.

The report, Making Agriculture Matter: Toward consumer-centric positioning of resilient and regenerative agriculture, explores how food produced through resilient and regenerative farming practices can be better communicated to consumers. The findings suggest that while consumers recognise the need for agriculture to improve, they are more likely to respond to messages that connect farming practices with benefits they can understand and value at the point of purchase, such as better flavour, perceived healthiness, fewer chemical inputs, visible links to farmers and trusted certification.

For many consumers in the study, “resilient agriculture”, the ability of farming systems to anticipate and adapt to climatic, economic, or social shocks while maintaining food supply, is seen as important, but not as something that should guide personal food choices in the supermarket. Consumers tended to expect governments, farmers and the wider food system to keep food available, rather than seeing resilience as their own responsibility at the checkout.

The research also points to a clear preference for how change should be framed: consumers want farming to draw on traditional values while using modern technology to make them work at scale. A return to "the old
ways" alone was seen as naive or commercially unviable, but the combination of traditional principles as the philosophy and modern tools as the method was both credible and appealing.

After testing three different messages, the research found that messages about food that tastes better, feels healthier, and comes with credible evidence were more engaging. The report found that the strongest tested narrative, “Food that actually nourishes”, linked resilient farming to healthier soil, stronger flavour, fewer synthetic inputs and verified claims, and resonated most strongly in the context of processed and manufactured products, where consumers do not take healthiness for granted.

"Consumers are telling us they want farming to change, but 'resilient' and 'regenerative' are not the words they shop with," said Klaus G. Grunert, Professor of Marketing at Aarhus University and Lead of the EIT Food Consumer Observatory. "When we translate those practices into things people can taste, trust and verify, such as better flavour, fewer chemicals, a farmer they can picture, or an independent label they recognise. The interest is there. The opportunity for the sector is to lead with the benefit, not the technique."

The research also highlights a trust gap. Consumers in the study trusted farmers more than retailers or manufacturers and were often sceptical of claims made by brands. This finding echoes the EIT Food Consumer Observatory’s Trust Report 2026, which identifies farmers as the most trusted actors in the food system. Together, the reports suggest that claims about quality, farming practices and values are more credible when they are connected to visible farmers, clear product origins and independent proof, rather than communicated through brands alone.

Trust, however, is not the only barrier. The study also found that price remains a persistent challenge, as consumers tend to assume that better farming means higher costs, and lower-price claims were considered credible only when intermediaries are removed, such as in direct-to-consumer farm shops or local distribution. Many also saw affordability as a problem for the government to address, feeling that today's food system rewards cheap, large-scale production over better farming, and that governments, not just farmers and shoppers, should support the transition and help bring down the cost of good food.

The report suggests that farmers, retailers, food manufacturers and policymakers should focus less on explaining technical farming methods and more on what those practices mean for the food people choose. This includes clearer communication around flavour, health, naturalness, product origin and independent verification.

“Resilient agriculture is one of Europe's greatest opportunities to strengthen food security while restoring nature, improving farmer livelihoods and building more competitive agri-food value chains,” added Elvira Domingo Varona, Director of Resilient Agriculture Thematic Leadership EIT Food. “At EIT Food, we bring together farmers, industry, innovators, researchers, investors and policymakers to accelerate this transition. Through collaborative landscape initiatives, innovation and new financing approaches, we help turn regenerative agriculture from isolated pilots into scalable, economically viable solutions. By connecting the entire food system, we are creating the conditions for resilient agriculture to deliver lasting environmental, economic and social impact.”