Abstract
The food and beverage market is central to consumer perceptions of
sustainability. When the consumption of sustainable foods is motivated by
personal benefits, adoption mirrors a health and wellness progression in which
consumers first consider the impacts of things in the body, followed by on the
body, and finally around the body. Therefore, as consumers become more
educated about the environmental, social, and economic implications of foods
and beverages, their health and wellness motivations dovetail with societal
concerns, such that food shopping choices become salient to all four zones of
sustainability:
- The Personal Benefit Zone
- The Environmental Zone
- The Social Zone
- The Economic Zone
In addition, many of the attributes that generally describe quality eating
experiences, particularly freshness, also resonate as sustainable in the food
and beverage market.
Measurement of sustainable products purchases across 20 food and beverage
categories shows a range of adoption rates among sustainability-minded
consumers as well as a range in willingness to pay a 20% cost premium.
Nonetheless, while sustainability consumers have certainly modified their
behavior in response to financial conditions, tradeoffs and cutbacks, they are
less likely to be made in product categories they view as essential to their
quality of life, including food.
To balance the agenda to save money with the commitment to buy sustainable
goods, many consumers are shifting purchases of these products to discount
outlets such as Walmart. At the same time (and in response), supermarkets are
upping the sustainability credentials of their private-label lines, opening up
another pathway to sustainable-at-a-discount shopping. Retailers are also
stressing sustainability options outside of the packaged goods aisles, notably
local produce and bulk merchandise. At the current intersection of
sustainability awareness and financial downturn, the market is ripe for food
and beverage products that allow consumers to shop more sustainably but also
spend less money.
Report Methodology
This report was jointly produced by The Hartman Group and Packaged Facts, and
is based on The Hartman Group' s 2009 multi-category study, Sustainability: The
Rise of Consumer Responsibility. In focusing on the food and beverage market,
this report draws on additional data from The Hartman Group' s primary
quantitative research. In addition, Packaged Facts provides an update of
consumer attitudes and spending.
The Hartman Group Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
This report draws primarily on an online survey of 1,856 U.S. adults conducted
in September 2008 by The Hartman Group to understand consumer attitudes and
behaviors related to sustainability. The sample was drawn from a panel of
adult U.S. consumers with Internet access, and was designed to provide good
representation of the U.S. population according to geographic area, age,
gender, race and income. The Hartman Group also conducted qualitative research
on sustainability in three markets (Seattle, Dallas, and Columbus) during
August 2008, using consumer ethnography with 50 consumers as the cornerstone
of qualitative research. Ethnographic interviews included one-on-one
conversations at an individual' s home or at a specific retail setting, as well
as group interviews also at consumers' homes. These engagements garnered more
than 100 hours of in-depth, revelatory consumer discussion.
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