Demand for Sustainable Staples Increased Despite Covid-19

Following the Covid-19 outbreak, which has led to high levels of unemployment and more than half a million deaths nationwide, shoppers have had good reason to pay less attention to sustainability. Cost, comfort and convenience have eclipsed ecological conservation when purchasing household staples like toilet paper and frozen dinners. Only a select few can afford to worry about the future when surviving the present is challenging enough, the thinking goes. New research, however, shows sales of consumer packaged goods (CPG) labeled "sustainable" accelerated last year, increasing almost one additional percentage point in the total CPG category, excluding alcohol and tobacco. Environmentally friendly items now account for 16.8% of all in-store purchases—a number Randi Kronthal-Sacco, lead author of the report and senior scholar at New York University’s Stern Center for Sustainable Business, estimated amounts to more than $131 billion. Prior analysis found that products labeled as sustainable generated nearly 55% of the CPG industry’s growth from 2015 through 2019, despite representing under one-fifth of the market and often being priced at a premium. New research shows sales of consumer packaged goods labeled as sustainable accelerated last year. To generate the report, Kronthal-Sacco and fellow researchers examined point-of-sale data across 36 categories, such as diapers, crackers and toothpaste, provided by market research firm IRI. They also looked at more than 70,000 individual products to see if the packaging contained a claim that the contents were more sustainable than their conventional counterparts. Green means profit The findings provide more evidence that sustainability initiatives benefit business. “To do well, companies must also do good, as consumers now expect brands and retailers to prioritize sustainability,” Kronthal-Sacco told Adweek. “Those that don't, risk obsolescence.” In the past, executives and academics alike have fretted over surveyed individuals claiming they prefer to buy products that are better for the planet, but then not actually buying them at the cash register. While this gap between intention and action still exists, experts say it’s shrinking. “More and more, people are making the argument that without sustainability, you can’t even have a successful business,” Vance Merolla, worldwide director of global sustainability at Colgate-Palmolive, told Adweek last month. In a recent statement on Nestlé's efforts to combat climate change, CEO Mark Schneider summed up the situation as follows: If the packaged-food manufacturer chooses to ignore people’s demand for more environmentally friendly policies, he wrote, “they will ignore our products.” 6 Grocery Trends Brands Should Capitalize On

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Despite Pandemic, Demand for Sustainable Consumer Packaged Goods Has Grown

Sales of eco-friendly home staples reached more than $131 billion in 2020

Paul Hiebert

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Paul Hiebert