CASE STUDY: Eco-Friendly Living: Are We Satisfying the Hunger For Change?

We’ve decided to support The Brandbean, in order to help promote their new eco-friendly case study.

Several of the UK’s fastest growing brands, including TeaPigs, Troo Foods, DAME and smol are also involved in this research.

Why?

They are all smaller, independent brands that are working hard to offer more eco-friendly products in their respective categories, including new delivery and direct to consumer options, and are a real inspiration to work with.

It is widely known and reported that many consumers want to adopt more eco-friendly habits and purchases. Whilst undoubtedly the market is in huge growth*, consumers are NOT changing their behaviour as quickly as they say they would like to** and indeed, many report a sense of frustration with brands and manufacturers.

Therefore, some obvious questions arise:

Why the gap between what we would LIKE to do vs what we are ACTUALLY doing?
How much bigger could this opportunity be?
How are brands and businesses helping UK consumers to make positive changes?
What are the key issues that UK consumers would like to see tackled, and who do they really trust to deliver solutions?

In this new research, The Brandbean and all partners involved seek to shed some light on the disparity between what we want to do, what we are actually doing and WHY. The nationwide study will run throughout October 2020, with results expected in January 2021.

Hilary Strong, Founder and Director of The Brandbean says:

“It’s common knowledge that many consumers are actively looking to become more eco-friendly in their day to day lives, yet the question remains: “why is it taking so long to translate into even bigger, faster changes in shopper and buyer behaviour?“

We really want to expose some of the barriers, and in particular – the role that brands and businesses can play in bringing about the degree of change that we all know we need to see. Far from greenwashing, we’ll ask “how can brands make “green the new black?“

The UK Ethical Consumer Market grew from £11.2bn to £41.1bn between 1999 and 2019, as reported by Ethical Consumer Magazine. ** Harvard Business Review July 2019 reports a study finding that whilst 65% of respondents claim to want to buy purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability, whereas only 26% actually do so.

Paula Quazi, Co-Founder of smol says:

“We are really looking forward to partnering with Troo Foods, TeaPigs, DAME and The Brandbean on this important research. We hope it will give us a better understanding of buyer behaviours and pain points within the eco space.“

Founded in 2008, The Brandbean is an independent research agency with offices in the UK, Spain and Argentina. Previous clients include Unilever, Diageo and ESPN, amongst others.

As an agency, The Brandbean has a history of exploring hot topics, uncovering data and insights that create debate and inform brands.

Sign up to participate in the case study here.