As shown throughout this paper, the importance of sustainability has grown – so how can businesses tap into this opportunity?
The most sustainably-minded group, the Eco Actives, have increased in size for the second consecutive year and are now worth $446 billion to the global FMCG industry. Over half the population will be considered Eco Active by the end of the decade.
How can businesses tap into this opportunity and create a competitive sustainability advantage?
Two in three shoppers tell us that they would switch from their regular brand to sustainable packaging, yet only 24% of the population have done this frequently in the past. Shoppers are doing it less often than they would like to because purchasing sustainable packaging is not the most significant driver for all shoppers all of the time.
Sustainability needs to be part of your brand superiority, but not the whole message. Unless ‘born-sustainable’, brands still need to emphasise their original reason to buy and not focus solely on any green pledges made.
Bringing packaging changes to market will increase production costs in many cases, and manufacturers will need to pass price rises onto consumers.
Some shoppers are willing to pay extra. We know that Eco Actives are more likely to buy sustainable brands, which tend to be more expensive. However, most are not willing. Manufacturers and retailers need to work together to remove the barriers of cost and any fears of compromised product quality.
Brands need to make any sustainable changes to packaging as visible as possible, making it clear there has been a change.
Despite climate change being the top concern globally, plastic waste has emerged as the focus when shopping. For shoppers, dealing with their carbon footprint is a more complex concept than packaging, which is tangible both in-store and at home. For example, just 13% of shoppers regularly look for carbon-zero labels on packaging.
But now is the time to educate consumers about the benefits of reducing their carbon footprint. Believing we can make a difference is a crucial motivator for both Actives and Considerers, and brands that can tell this story to consumers can benefit. New cross-brand initiatives to develop a green score or single label mean this is likely to be more prominent in future decision-making.
These recommendations can help you win not just with the Eco Actives but also the Eco Considerers and Eco Dismissers, helping to close the Value-Action gap, which today is worth $806 billion to the FMCG industry.
