Did you know that when purchasing an alcoholic drink 58% of people think it’s important that a brand is sustainable or eco-friendly? And when taking that data and looking at it from a generational point of view, 75% of Millennials think it’s important that a brand is sustainable or eco-friendly, in comparison to only 47% of Gen X’ers.
But what kind of initiatives are consumers looking for from an alcohol brand when hitting the mark of being sustainable or eco-friendly?
The best place to start is what are the most important sustainable initiatives for brands to undertake from a consumers point of view – here are the top 5:
- Recyclable packaging/casks (44%)
- Eliminating plastic (40%)
- Reducing carbon footprint/emissions (37%)
- Waste reduction during manufacturing (37%)
- Giving back to environmental charities (33%)
The priority of these differ per generation. For example, 39% of Millennials think that the most important initiative is recyclable packaging/casks however Gen X think that eliminating plastic is the most important (46%), and so do 22% of Gen Z’s. But what a consumer thinks a brand should undertake is somewhat different to what a consumer personally considers when making a purchasing decision from a new alcohol brand.
28% of people personally consider if brands properly remove by-products created throughout the distillery process when purchasing a new alcohol beverage and 27% of people personally consider eliminating plastic when purchasing a new alcohol beverage. This suggests that if your brand doesn’t take either of the above initiatives into consideration, you’re going to lose over 1/4 of your potential audience.
Even though the type of initiative matters to the consumer, it’s also how you communicate your sustainability efforts, and what your messaging is communicating.
When looking at how consumers think a brand should communicate, they said:
- On the pack (57%)
- On your website (44%)
- TV advertising (41%)
- In store advertising (30%)
- Social Media posts (29%)
We think it’s extremely interesting that TV advertising is more widely selected by consumers in comparison to social media posts! Want the full generational breakdown? Get in touch as we can tell you how this differs per generation!
When looking at what the most effective messaging is, 45% of people said the most effective way to communicate your sustainability efforts is to provide examples of how a consumer’s contribution helps a brand achieve their goals e.g. every bottle you buy allows us to plant X amount of trees, in comparison to 30% of people saying what your brand has achieved to date being the most effective way to communicate your sustainability efforts e.g. we’ve planted X amount of trees so far.
…and if you don’t take sustainability into consideration? 32% of Gen Z’s, 34% of Gen Xer’s and 50% of Millennials said that if they found out their favorite alcohol brand was not using sustainable practices they would be highly likely to switch to a more sustainable brand.
This article is just a dip in the ocean…we have so much more insights that we’re waiting to share with you. Email us for more information.
