Rising inflation creating barrier for sustainable food shopping

Nearly three quarters of British and German consumers strongly agree that protecting the environment is one of the most important issues of our times and, as a result, want to shop more sustainably, though with fast rising buying decisions are now led by price.

According to 2022 Consumer Trends in Sustainability launched today (20) by quantilope, decision about which food and drink brands to purchase is nowadays led by price for the majority (79 percent) of British shoppers. In Germany it’s all about taste (70 percent) and then price (69 percent).

quantilope surveyed 1200 consumers in the UK and Germany to better understand changing attitudes towards sustainability.

The research suggests that rising inflation is a barrier to adopting more sustainable shopping practices for more than half of shoppers in both countries, with just one in five in the UK and one in four in Germany making planet friendly choices that prioritise sustainable packaging. 

More German shoppers (39 percent) are more likely to prioritise buying products with local ingredients as compared to British consumers (19 percent).

quantilope’s survey finds that today most people want to actively reduce waste, and therefore their climate footprint, with one in three British shoppers saying they are more likely to buy products that have sustainable packaging 

Around three quarters of shoppers actively attempt to reduce waste (77 percent in the UK and 71 percent in Germany) and more than half (51 percent in both countries) plan to buy less plastic. Some plastic packaging is inevitable of course and one third of survey respondents claim to separate waste for recycling.  

British shoppers are slightly more confused about what products are sustainable (24%) than German shoppers (22 percent), says the research, highlighting an opportunity for brands to make their sustainability messaging clearer.

“Our research paints an interesting picture of how attitudes to sustainability impact food choices,” said Peter Aschmoneit, CEO and Co-Founder of quantilope. “While consumers expect brands to take responsibility for the sustainability of their products, they are more than willing to do their bit to save the planet. However there are barriers that need to be removed, or reduced, to make sustainable behaviors easier; money is the biggest barrier with uncertainty about what is sustainable and limited access to sustainable products also reducing sustainable actions.”