Don’t lead with green: key webinar takeaways 

The first in a new series, our recent webinar tackled the topic of sustainability in relation to consumer behaviour and purchasing motivators. Specifically, how sustainability affects value-add benefits or purpose-led USPs. On examining the key challenges for FMCG brands today, this topic just kept coming up, entwined with the implications of trying to sell to Gen Z and fighting purpose fatigue.    

No matter the cause, the reality is that people rarely buy for sustainability alone. Yet we need to accelerate the shift towards making more sustainable choices. The Forge and BCG’s Mainstream Green both explore this notion, arguing that core motivators or ‘what’s in it for me’ (WIIFM) almost always override someone’s good intentions to purchase sustainably. This is the ‘say-do’ intention gap, which we want to help close.  

Enter, our panellists

The panel discussion was hosted by Catch A Fire’s Senior Strategist Bella Ali-Khan, and joined by: 

• Esther Marchetti, Co-Founder and Head of Innovation at Bolt Insight.
• Hannah Carter, CEO and Founder of OGGS®. 

Without further ado, let’s dive into the key insights from our panellists. 

OGGS®: Quality, repeat sales, and how to stand out   

OGGS® vegan egg alternatives and cakes are on a mission to take eggs out of the food chain with delicious and efficacious solutions.

Diving straight into this notion of WIIFM?, Hannah explained that 70% of OGGS® customers aren’t actually vegan, even though it’s a certified vegan brand. This is down to the key driver for consumers being taste. Cake is particularly interesting when we’re thinking about purchasing motivations, as 60% of sales are impulsive – it isn’t typically a weekly shopping list item. So for OGGS®, the real test is less about the first purchase, and more about the repeat purchases. As Hannah explains, “The first purchase might be for sustainability reasons or ethical reasons, but if your product doesn’t stack up, the second purchase doesn’t happen.”

This is a notion we discussed in our first webinar, Plant-Based is Dead, with consumers wanting to give plant-based alternatives a go to reduce their intake of meat and dairy. If the first product bought didn’t tick core needs of taste and texture, they weren’t in a hurry to explore the category again. 

Coming back to OGGS®, the brand’s top three benefits are taste, animal welfare and sustainability. How does it communicate these benefits effectively? Packaging needs to stand out, as 60% of purchases are at POS. Along with being able to see the delicious cakes within, OGGS® uses on-pack claims such as ‘cruelty free’ to communicate their ethical proposition. This is the same language the beauty industry has used for years so they aren’t reinventing the wheel, instead making it simple for consumers to understand.

Is sustainability linked with other consumer drivers in the food industry, like quality?

Absolutely. OGGS® is currently working with major factories to remove eggs from brioche. Hannah explains, “We’re making the product softer. We’re making it last longer. It is significantly improving. It is one for one, with our egg alternative.” There is a lot of industry infrastructure that needs to change to move things at scale, and it will take time, but OGGS® is making progress, and it’s exciting. 

Whether you’re a brand owner, looking to open a food brand, or simply to make sustainable choices. If you’ve got an extra pound that week, choose the sustainable option. It’s our responsibility to discover ways to do the least wrong thing when brand building. It goes against logic to put cake in a box, but if we can make it the least wrong and the least impactful, then that’s the best that we can do.

Gen Z and the Say-Do Gap  

In many cases, Gen Z will claim to pay more for brands with sustainability and ethical credentials, but then over-consume fast fashion and technology. We mention this specific generation because it has an unquestionable cultural influence and economic power that will only grow as Gen Z ages. 

Looking specifically at categories with high-frequency purchasing, we turned to our friends at Bolt Insights to look at Gen Z motivators and sustainability.

Bolt Insight: Efficacy, partnerships and walking the walk 

Using the Bolt Insight AI model, Ester shared survey results that unpick Gen Z’s drivers around grocery retail, fashion and personal care. 

On face value, Gen Z values sustainability, however, the Say-Do gap reveals that other factors, such as price, convenience, quality and efficacy are the main drivers. Consumers will largely prioritise those factors over eco friendliness. 

Fashion is an interesting category, as price and quality are tied to sustainability. Take second-hand luxury; price and accessibility factors ladder up nicely with sustainability to make it a compelling argument. The result is “you almost have that golden triangle of quality, price and sustainability.”

Established brands can learn from these second-hand platforms by promoting better authenticity and transparency. For example, Gucci or Patagonia, promote clothes repairs, or partnership with resale platforms. This also encourages customers in recycling, promoting sustainability, helping them feel informed and engaged.  

As digital natives, Gen Z consumers are discerning about the authenticity of sustainability claims. As Esther says, “the key is to meet them where they are” so brands need to strike a balance in communication online between being transparent and being selective with messaging to avoid green fatigue and overwhelming consumers. 

Brands need to engage in storytelling and demonstrate verifiable action and impact. In practice, this could be replacing lofty claims that can be misconstrued as greenwashing. Instead, focus on what the brand is doing, be it removing eggs, focusing on recycled materials, or targeting certification. Isolating the relevant activities that make sense for your brand will reassure consumers that the brand is walking the walk.

Sustainability: the long and the short of it 

So what’s the answer? Should we ‘lead with green’, or put sustainability second? 

Well, as ever, it’s not that simple. Here are our thoughts: 

Sustainability isn’t a core motivator, but it is expected.  

Even if sustainability is the benefit that drives the first purchase, if the product doesn’t do what it says on the tin (whether that’s to taste great or stop you sweating), there won’t be a second purchase. This is why addressing the core category motivators is non-negotiable for a brand to be successful.  

Whilst at Climate Week we attended Reap what you Sow: Global Food System to Support a Growing Population. Darci Vetter, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Public Policy of PepsiCo plainly said that consumers today “don’t expect that you should pay more for [sustainability] or that it should be an additional benefit.” 

So brands need to build sustainability into their core proposition, not have it as a bolt on. Brands must address the sustainability metrics that their customers care about. Most often, they’re linked to another purchasing motivator.  

Should we always consider WIIFM?  

What’s in it for me (WIIFM), a term coined by The Forge, neatly puts us in consumer shoes. In other words – why should I?  

One of the biggest challenges for sustainable brands is that the concept of climate change and making a difference is a mighty concept. It’s easy to sound disingenuous.   

As Esther said, communicating a brand’s sustainability claims “become the best story when supporting the key drivers of the category”. When tomatoes are picked in season or grown with fewer pesticides, they taste better, with less environmental impact. When clothes are made with natural and organic fibres, it creates more durability and comfort for the wearer.   

Sustainability is not an add-on. But, shouting it from the rooftops isn’t necessarily the way to go either. These benefits should be woven into the fabric of your brand, in a way that makes sense in your category and supports the quality of your product or service. 

Most importantly as Hannah noted, “staying in and knowing your lane is critical”. Don’t try and tackle it all – choose the area of sustainability where your brand can make a real impact. And ultimately, we can all work on the right messages to help people purchase more considerately every day.  

Watch the full webinar episode now

Get in touch with us if you’d like any more information on the topics covered in the webinar. We also have additional takeouts from the webinar, which your brand can action – chat to us today to access them.  

toby@catchafireagency.com | +44 (0) 7880 696 385

Contact Bolt for quality insight solutions that can help you understand your brand and category positioning: ester.marchetti@boltinsight.com