ANAHEIM, CA — Sustainability dominated the conversation on the trade show floor and in educational programming during Natural Products Expo West, held March 12-16 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
During their presentation, The Evolution of Sustainability: What CPGs Need to Know, Tom Vierhile, VP of strategic insights for Innova Market Insights, and Julia Robey, customer sustainability lead for Cargill, shared top sustainability trends for 2024 and their perspectives on what’s coming down the pike.
Vierhile opened the session by sharing the top 10 sustainability trends revealed by Innova Market Insights research:
- Ingredients Taking the Spotlight
- Nurturing Nature
- Prioritizing Prevention
- Applied Offerings with Plant-Based Products
- Local Goes Global
- Home Kitchen Heroes
- Indulging in Health
- Oceans Of Possibilities
- H2O Quenching the Future
- Minimizing the Noise
“Consumers are more concerned about the environment,” Vierhile said. “They’re cognizant their purchases make a difference, and they want to be doing the right thing, and companies also want to do the right thing.”
Vierhile shared that 37% of consumers say they’re concerned about the state of the planet. Nearly two-thirds of consumers surveyed said they believe their choices in the food and beverage area reflect their values and beliefs, especially when it comes to sustainability.
Additionally, consumers are expanding their definition of what’s considered healthy to include the planet.
“People equate health and the environment,” Robey said. “Consumers are saying that for a food or beverage product to be healthy, it also has to be healthy for the environment.”
“People equate health and the environment. Consumers are saying that for a food or beverage product to be healthy, it also has to be healthy for the environment.” — Julia Robey | customer sustainability lead | Cargill
Sustainably marketed products experience faster growth
Moving beyond trends into the business side of sustainability, Robey noted that sustainably marketed CPG products are growing about two times the rate of normal products.
“People are willing to spend money on brands they think are doing the right thing and doing the right thing for the environment,” Robey said. ”[Sustainably marketed] products were fifth in the market in 2022, but they delivered one-third of the growth. There is big demand for this.”
Companies should focus their marketing efforts on telling their sustainability stories, Vierhile said, noting that consumers love stories as long as they are told simply. They also want honesty and transparency from CPGs, with nearly one-third of consumers indicating these traits are two of the most important things related to food.
“Consumers want to know what a company’s policy is around these areas and how companies are addressing things like sustainability, and they are really looking for sustainability claims on packaging,” Vierhile said.
Future outlook for sustainability
Both speakers touched on the future of sustainability, noting that current progress and efforts have barely scratched the surface.
“Some areas where we’re seeing more buy-in these days include nature protection,” Vierhile said. “Consumers would like to see companies take a more active role here. Going forward, this will be a huge initiative. Nature protection includes animal welfare, ocean protection and water usage.”
Robey suggested companies consider what they can do to help the effort, especially with 62% of consumers saying brands should be doing more.
“These are the things people are concerned about: carbon, plastic, food waste and environmental pollution,” she said. “Consumers are aspiring to live more sustainably. They want to do something about it, and they want brands to do something about it.”
As sustainability efforts move forward, Vierhile and Robey told the audience to expect government regulations and SEC scrutiny to continue, and perhaps get even stricter.
Sustainability is a broad and complex topic, with various paths. Robey offered one approach to companies of all sizes: work together.
“Making change in the space requires partnerships,” she said. “Work with your suppliers, work with your competitors in a pre-competitive way to figure out how you can change some of the most important areas in your space.”
