The relationship between the consumer and their food is an intimate one. Increasingly over the past several years, consumers have gone in search of transparently made products they can put their trust in. A recent report from Innova Market Insights revealed that now, in 2022, consumers’ top concerns center around being environmentally friendly with their food choices.
“For the first time ever, more consumers surveyed globally for Innova’s Lifestyle & Attitude Survey say health of the planet is their top global concern, rather than health of the population,” says Lu Ann Williams, Insights Director at Innova Market Insights.
Close to half of consumers are cutting food waste, and 63 percent say they would like to eat at a restaurant that actively prevents or reduces food waste—raising the question as to whether consumers will return to the foodservice space in the coming months. As many as 20 to 25 percent also adjusted their product choices for environmental reasons, a press release stated.
The report also stated that those carrying environmental claims are growing at three times the pace of total food and beverage activity. In the five years ending Q3 2021, launches of food and beverages using upcycled ingredients rose at a CAGR of 122 percent, compared with 59 percent for products using recycled plastic, 49 percent for products with water saving claims, and 47 percent for products carrying carbon emissions claims.
Nearly three in 10 consumers say it’s more expensive to buy more environmentally friendly products, yet over half of them say they are willing to pay extra for food and beverage products that are devoted to solving global issues such as plastic waste (64 percent), ocean pollution (63 percent), and food waste (62 percent).
“In our Innova Trends Survey 2021, 55 percent of consumers globally say that there are too many environmental labels and they don’t know what to look for,” notes Williams. “Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of consumers surveyed globally agree or strongly agree that they prefer one label that captures the complete impact on the environment over multiple labels.”
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