What will shape the plant-based category moving forward? Sustainable sourcing Demand for sustainably branded products is on the rise, increasing 29% in the US between 2013 and 2019, and is even outpacing growth of conventional products.58 However, one survey found that while 88% of US and UK consumers want brands to help them be more environmental and ethical, 43% said companies were actually making it harder for them.59
“If you’re not clearly helping your customers to improve their environmental and social footprint, then you’re in danger of disappointing of them.”60 The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Futerra, The Good Life Goals for World-Changing Business
This potential disappointment could be even greater for plant-based brands, which often position their products as being inherently more environmentally-friendly than meat and dairy because they are not animal-based. However, some of the most popular ingredients for plant-based products are associated with significant environmental problems. Soy is a major driver of deforestation and habitat loss in South America61 while intensive, pesticide-dependant cultivation of almonds in California, where around 80% of the world’s supply is grown62, is linked to the collapse of bee colonies.63 As climate change intensifies, consumers’ environmental concerns will too, and manufacturers could face a backlash if they are not seen to be proactively responding to these concerns. A recent European survey found that most consumers (57%) want sustainability information to be compulsory on food labels.64 Voluntarily providing this information could therefore be an effective way for brands to communicate to consumers about their sustainability efforts. Bee Better Certified, for instance, provides consumers the assurance that a product has been made in a way that benefits pollinators such as bees, and ice cream maker Häagen-Dazs recently added the logo to four of its almonds-containing products. Brands using soy should be transparent about the commodity’s origins and sourcing policy. Growing demand for sustainable, traceable soy has been partly responsible for a rise in domestic production in Europe, which has doubled over the past five years, according to non-profit Danau Soja.65 Assessing the sustainability of crops used in plant-based foods is notoriously complex as it depends on a myriad of factors including pesticide use, yield per hectare, protection of biodiversity, food miles, and processing. Innova predicts that, going forward, manufacturers may increasingly use a variety of plantbased ingredients in one product, positioning this as more sustainable than being dependent on a single, monoculture crop.66 Carbon footprint labelling is another way some plant-based brands have been differentiating themselves. Oatly and Quorn have added front-of-pack carbon footprint labels to their products while hard discounter Lidl has pledged to offset the carbon emissions it generates during production and transportation of its Next Level vegan range, and a carbon neutral logo now appears on some of its products.67 Such transparency is appealing to many consumers, according to The Hartman Group, which found that 35% of consumers see reducing carbon footprints as a potential definition of sustainability.68
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