Just under half of UK consumers are planning to reduce their carbon footprint through their food choices in 2022, showing that brands need to be considering their how they support sustainable causes to continue reaching consumers.
According to a survey carried out by Teads and Kantar, 49% of people will be looking to make better environmental choices when it comes to the food they eat this year. Much of this intention can be attributed to an increase in awareness around dairy-free and eco-conscious products, and the media coverage around events like COP26. In fact, COP26 had a 31% increase in consumer awareness over the food choices they make, and how these choices impact the world.
Interestingly, close to 60% of consumers do not trust sustainability messages on social media, but people across all age groups agree on the impact that mainstream news has had in triggering their environmental concerns. This finding will be welcoming to mainstream news organisations who have haven’t always had the support of consumers in recent times.
Despite a distrust for messages on social media, younger respondents admit that influencers and brand ambassadors play a role in their perception of a brand’s sustainability efforts. 45% of respondents under 35-years-old pointed to influencers and brand ambassadors having a ‘strong impact’ on their perception of a brand’s sustainability credentials.
“Our research shows a significant consumer shift towards more eco-conscious attitudes surrounding sustainable food choices,” said Phil Sumner, VP Insights, Northern Europe at Teads. “Premium news sites are clearly the key source for delivering sustainability messaging; brands must ensure their ads are placed in these environments at least until initial brand trust is cemented. Following this, influencers and brand ambassadors can be extremely effective in influencing younger audiences in particular.”
*Teads is a client of Bluestripe Communications, owned by Bluestripe Group, the owner of NDA
