New Study Into Sustainable Foods and Beverages Sees Opportunity
August 19th - In a joint study across 20 foods and beverage categories by the Hartman Group and Packaged Facts, sustainability-minded consumers had some interesting habits worth noting. Even though they've tightened their spending like others, they're also less likely to modify their purchases in product categories they see as essential to their quality of life; that being food. A range of individuals were willing to pay up to a 20% cost premium.
These findings fall in line with the Hartman Group's previous studies and beliefs on consumers' prioritized values, in which people care in geographic zones about: what goes in the body, followed by on the body, in the home, the local community, and then the world. So if people become gradually more knowledgeable about the environmental, social, and economic implications that foods and beverages carry, it's inferred that their purchases will increasingly include sustainable attributes complementary to their primary health benefits. Also noteworthy is that many attributes of what people described as quality eating experiences, particularly freshness, also came up as properties of sustainable foods and beverages.
So in these more challenging economic times, in order to save money and buy sustainable food, many people are increasingly shopping at discount retailers. Supermarkets in response are seeing the value of sustainable attributes in their private-labels which typically have lower price points and higher margins - thus making the mental space for what the study calls "sustainable-at-a-discount shopping." This would also allow for additional categories that could also fit the agenda, including those that may fit the concept of "local."
Additional reports in development will focus on OTC medications and supplements, personal care items, and household cleaners. Click here for more information.
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