ESG credibility can boost revenue

One in four UK consumers has already changed food and grocery brands based on sustainability perceptions, a new study claims, and they’re switching to brands with the strongest sustainability credentials at twice the rate of the average brand.

That’s according to the 2022 UK Brand Sustainability Benchmark Report from research technology company Glow, based on polling 16,000 respondents on their views of 102 brands. 

Why it matters

Glow’s proprietary Social Responsibility Score (SRS), which assesses consumer perceptions of brand ESG performance, finds that moving to a more sustainable footprint makes economic sense for businesses: a two-point increase in ESG credibility scores equates to an additional one percentage-point increase in revenue growth.

The top 10 brands

1. Ecover
2. Method
3. Beyond Meat
4. Linda McCartney Foods
5. Pact Coffee
6. Who Gives A Crap
7. Rude Health
8. The Cheeky Panda
9. Simple
10. Tony’s Chocolonely 

What consumers want 

“Consumers now almost universally expect Food & Grocery brands to be stepping up in relation to environmental issues and reducing their impact on the planet,” says Rachel White, market leader of NielsenIQ, UK & Ireland. 

“Younger consumers in particular are also increasingly judging brands on how they support their communities, partners and suppliers,” she adds.

Consumers also report gathering their ESG messages primarily through news and media coverage, product packaging and advertising. But they want to get more information via brand-owned channels such as packaging and in-store/online at the moment of purchase.

With the exception of Gen Z, they also want to be less reliant on their social media feed.

 Sourced from Glow