How to win in sustainability

Savanta’s latest Grocery Eye report finds that 72% of UK consumers are influenced by a desire to be sustainable when it comes to their food shop, yet 30% claim it’s hard to know if a product is indeed sustainable. And while there is clear interest in sustainable food and drink, it doesn’t necessarily equate to a purchase.

Certification losing impact

The Q3 Grocery Eye report, which surveys 500 UK national representative shoppers, highlights an appetite for retailers and brands to make sustainability clear and simple, as consumers seek ‘more reasons’ and ‘fewer barriers’ before taking action. In fact, while 95% consider acting in a sustainable way, more than a quarter still do nothing.

To tackle this, sustainability messaging needs to be made clearer. At the same time, the report notes a declining level of recognition around certification.

The data shows that 1 in 3 look for certifications on products to gauge that a supermarket is being sustainable, but awareness of the largest certifications has decreased compared to last year. Savanta believes this is likely to be a result of the sheer quantity of schemes, alongside their complexity.  

Moreover, whilst packaging and other traditional indicators of sustainability remain important, the research finds that no one aspect of sustainability really stands out. Food waste is highlighted as the most important issue (62%) but is only currently being acted upon by 38% of consumers.

This gives way for an opportunity for retailers and brands to choose an area of sustainability that is authentic to them, suggests Savanta. Although it must be clearly signposted!

Retailers and brands expected to drive sustainability

Across all generations, consumers believe brands and retailers hold responsibility and need to help drive sustainability. For example, 42% and 41% believe retailers and brands, respectively, need to play a role in implementing sustainability, compared to 36% saying it’s down to individuals (the public). Even higher expectations are given to retailers and brands around their perceived roles to inform, educate and support on sustainability.

Gen Z pickier about sustainability  

Moreover, although Gen Z are considered the sustainable generation, the Savanta report finds they are less likely to adopt sustainable action because ‘the personal benefits’ are not good enough.

For example, 28% of Gen-Zers buy wonky produce compared to 55% of Boomers, and only 25% of Gen-Zers buy produce in season vs 52% of Boomers.

Across the all the options assessed, which included the two above, as well as questions around reusable bags, loose produce, fairtrade and minimising waste, there are just three areas where Gen Z trumps Boomers. This includes buying products with a lower carbon footprint (Gen Z: 24% vs. Boomers: 22%), buying in bulk (27% vs 23%) and buying meat-free alternatives (25% vs 19%).

While Gen Z are less likely to enact sustainable actions, the report flags that younger people tend to do more research, scrutinising brand claims and values with a much keener eye. The media used to inform on sustainability does differ according to age, with Gen Z and Millennials much more likely to use social media to seek out more information (34% and 37% respectively).

Meanwhile, messaging on pack and certifications hold equal weight in the eyes of Boomers, whilst Gen X seems pretty evenly split across a number of avenues, with messaging in store nabbing top spot (33%).