Last year we introduced our Eco- Segmentation where we created unique consumer segments based on how often people do everyday actions that can help reduce plastic waste.
Everyday actions include taking their own bag when going grocery shopping, using refillable water bottles and reusable cups for hot drinks, to the more inconvenient (and less widely done) actions, such as avoiding buying drinks in plastic bottles or products that are packaged in plastic.
We choose these actions primarily because we feel they are good practice in most regions as plastic waste is a top concern and something that individuals can influence in their daily lives.
Eco Actives is the most engaged group – making up 20% of global consumers (+4% vs 2019) – consistently working to reduce their levels of plastic waste. They always, or frequently, take active steps to improve the environment. This segment peaks at 24% in Western Europe – and within that Germany has the highest proportion at 38% – but this falls as low as 10% in Asia. Individuals in this group tend to be older and from higher social classes. Age is typically the stronger factor to separate the groups, but we do see in USA, Brazil and Indonesia the Actives are more likely to be under 35.
Despite this, China also saw a growth in Eco Actives, which fits with a wave of activity around charging for plastic bags in stores, setting up strict recycling schemes, and a government focus on green technologies.
This group includes serious spenders and is worth over $382 billion to the global FMCG market. If Eco Actives were to spend even a fraction of this amount on more environmentally friendly offers, there is a huge opportunity for FMCG companies.
Eco Considerers are those people who take some actions to reduce their environmental impact, such as using reusable cloth shopping bags instead of plastic bags, but less frequently than Eco Actives.
Thirty-nine per cent of global households belong to this segment (+4% vs 2019), with Asia seeing the biggest growth in this group (+5%). This was led by Indonesia where the group grew from 11% in 2019 to 22% in 2020.
Eco Dismissers have little or no interest in the environmental challenges facing the world and are taking no steps to improve, including efforts to reduce plastic waste. Although at 43% this is the biggest group, this has fallen by 8% in just one year.
Dismissers over-index with the under-35s, lower social classes and large households. Fifty-nine per cent of Asian households are in this group, but they are also sizeable in Latin America (47%) and the US (47%). Although Dismissers form the largest group, the growth of both Actives and Considerers should be a cause for celebration and many opportunities lie with those who are most engaged.
As they represent the most engaged group, we have focused on Eco Actives. We still believe that the current behaviour of this group forms the blueprint of how less engaged segments could behave.
Active cooking
Eco Actives are cooking their meals with fresh ingredients. Analysing 330 FMCG categories in the UK, we found that of the top 10 categories where Eco Actives over trade, half were fresh food or categories related to scratch cooking, such as fresh vegetables, fresh milk, home baking, ethnic ingredients, and stock cubes.
They are buying organic, with a 20% increase in spend on fresh organic fruit and vegetables in 2020, more than double the average growth rate. The over representation in organic is also evident across Europe.
They also seek out ‘natural’ products, with over three-quarters (78%) of this group globally agreeing with this statement, compared to 65% across all of the groups.
Actively healthy
Eco Actives are more health conscious than other groups, buying into categories with health benefits. They are more likely to check the nutritional labels on their food and drink products, choosing those with additional benefits, such as vitamins. Genki Forest is a new brand from China, which has zero calories and fat and is an example of how Eco Actives can help brands grow. They account for 45% of the brand’s sales, which is twice as high as the proportion of sales they account for in the carbonated soft drinks category overall.
In some cases, environmental concerns may trade off against the desire for health, for example with mineral water in the UK where there is a safe, plastic free alternative in tap water. In this case we find the Eco Actives less likely to choose this category.
Actively picky
When we look at the purchasing of Eco Actives in the UK, we can see that the brands they are most likely to buy, compared to Eco Dismissers, have strong sustainability credentials.
For the three brands below, penetration is almost double that of Dismissers and the sales growth among Actives up to five times higher.
What differentiates these brands is that they go beyond plastic and tick multiple sustainability boxes, including locally produced, organic, meat-free and using sustainable palm oil. They have an all-round green image and a higher price point.
Eco Active shopping behaviours did not diminish due to COVID-19.
Despite seeing an increase in plastic packaging for fresh food, due to hygiene concerns and convenience, the Eco Actives remained committed to buying their fresh fruit and vegetables unwrapped.
As the data shows, the proportion of spend by Actives on loose (unpackaged) meat (for example from a butcher’s counter) has remained flat and has even increased on fresh fruit, vegetables and salads during the last year, whilst it has decreased significantly for the rest of the population.
