Mumbai: Environmentally sustainable grocery market is forecast to double over next five years, as per a new sustainability study from Kantar. FMCG/ consumer packaged goods shopping by environmentally concerned households (eco-actives) will total $446 billion in 2021, up $70 billion vs 2020, the data analytics firm estimates. It forecasts this segment will grow to $925 billion by 2026 – a CAGR of 15.7 per cent, more than five times faster than the grocery market as a whole.
Interestingly, the 'Who Cares, Who Does' study that interviewed almost 90,000 respondents in 26 countries, also throws light on the importance of children as critical influencers in making daily household shopping habits more environmentally responsible. Family, mostly children, were identified as the biggest influence (36 per cent of respondents) after product packaging, in shifting habits according to the global study. Almost half of households, at 49 per cent, said the Covid-19 pandemic has made sustainability even more important to them.
The percentage of ‘eco-active’ households has grown from 16 per cent in 2019 to 22 per cent in 2021, the study, in its third year, found. The Eco-active segment has grown six percentage points over the past two years, to account for 22 per cent of global households. Kantar projects this segment will grow to 40 per cent of all households over the next five years, and more than half of households by 2029.
The 'Who Cares, Who Does' study segmented households into three categories of eco-actives (22 per cent of households), eco-considerers (40 per cent of households) and eco-dismissers (38 per cent of households) based on their actual behaviours on sustainability
“Eco-actives are driving growth for brands that embrace sustainable strategies. As a segment the Eleco-active market will grow five times faster than the overall grocery market, so building a competitive advantage through your sustainability strategy represents a major opportunity for brands," said Kantar’s Worldpanel division CEO Guillaume Bacuvier. "Companies that get it right will reap the rewards, those that fail to act risk turning away a growing number of shoppers. Two-thirds of all shoppers have stopped purchasing a product or service which has a negative impact on the environment at least once.”
Kantar also asked consumers to identify their major sustainability concerns and their major barriers to acting sustainably. Climate change, Water pollution and Plastic waste were the top concerns while ‘products are harder to find or more expensive’ were the top barriers to sustainable behaviour.
“For retailers, there is a much more to do. Only 44 per cent of shoppers are somewhat or very satisfied with the in-store offering. A good choice of local products and affordable options are the most important sustainability factors shoppers consider when choosing a store for their shopping. Fewer people are looking for a specific sustainable section,” Bacuvier further said.
