Sustainably marketed products remain a focus during COVID

Consumers continued to prioritize sustainably marketed products during COVID-19.

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Coronavirus. Covid-19. Coronavirus Pandemic. Coronavirus2019. Earth with text concerning the Coronavirus Pandemic. .Elements of this image furnished by NASA. COVID-19. Earth in dark sky with banner.
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Consumers continued to prioritize sustainably marketed products during COVID-19.

“Sustainably marketed products did survive COVID-19,” Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Senior Scholar, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, New York University Stern School of Business, said during Resuming the Sustainability Agenda.

Sustainability has been a trendy word with consumers for more than a decade. Before the pandemic, consumers were most concerned with food and plastic packaging waste. 

However, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated some consumer trends, while pushing others into the background. During the pandemic, health and safety became a big focus for consumers and experts were divided on whether sustainability would continue to hold its market share.

Sustainability as a growth opportunity

Sustainably marketed products saw significant growth from 2015-2019, increasing from 13.7% to 16.1% annual dollar share of the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) market. In addition, sustainably marketed delivered 54.6% of CPG market growth during that period.

The market segment continued to grow during the pandemic, up to 16.8% of annual dollar share for CPG.

“It’s really important to grasp the amount of growth sustainably marketed products are driving because our industry is always looking for pockets of opportunity. We saw phenomenal growth because of COVID last year, but as we think into the future, areas like sustainability really can blossom into some great growth opportunities,” Larry Levin, Executive Vice President, Market and Shopper Intelligence, IRI and Kronthal-Sacco’s co-presenter, explained

Consumer definition of sustainability changes

Many consumers now define sustainability as a broad term that encompasses both environmental and social factors that include minimizing negative environmental impact, commitment to renewable energy, reducing waste, minimizing exploitation of natural resources, minimizing carbon footprint, coming together as a community for the greater good, working in ways that benefit society at large, reducing climate change, protecting human rights and reducing poverty.

Consumers that prioritize sustainably marketed products tend to be millennials, college graduates and those who earn an above average income (more than $70.000 per household).

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