Ecover has topped the leader board as the latest sustainability benchmark report reveals that 1 in 4 consumers have already made the switch to more sustainable brands.
As the first in-depth look into the UK food and grocery industry’s sustainability record, the 2022 UK Brand Sustainability Benchmark Report warns food and grocery brands against ignoring the push to be more sustainable.
Based on the feedback of 16,000 respondents, the report also revealed that consumers are switching to brands with the strongest sustainability credentials at twice the rate of the average brand.
Conducted by research technology company Glow, the study revealed that Ecover, Method and Beyond Meat are perceived to be the top three leading sustainable food and grocery brands by consumers, with a social responsibility score (SRS) of 57% above the industry average.
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The top 10 brands which consumers believe to be the most sustainable are: Ecover, Method, Beyond Meat, Linda McCartney Foods, Pact Coffee, Who Gives A Crap, Rude Health, The Cheeky Panda, Simple and Tony’s Chocolonely.
The report also found that moving to a more sustainable footprint makes economic sense for many businesses, with an ESG credibility increase of just two points equating to an additional 1% increase in revenue growth.
NielsenIQ UK & Ireland market leader Rachel White said consumers expect food and grocery brands to make tangible changes across many parts of their business.
“Consumers now almost universally expect food and grocery brands to be stepping up in relation to environmental issues and reducing their impact on the planet.
“In addition, younger consumers in particular are also increasingly judging brands on how they support their communities, partners and suppliers. Brands that are slow to respond to these expectations are going to find it increasingly difficult to compete which is why data of this kind is so important.”
Glow CEO, Tim Clover, said that even in the current economic climate: “a growing cohort of consumers are making their own impact” by moving away from brands that don’t meet their sustainability expectations, instead choosing brands that help them feel they are “making ‘micro-differences’ every day”.
“Brands that ‘grandstand’ about distant, abstract goals can confuse or lose the trust of tuned-in and action-focused consumers, even when the programs themselves are highly impactful and beneficial,” he added.
“It is clear that consumers don’t expect perfection but they do expect honesty, commitments and progress.”
