People, Planet & Profit: where brands are going with sustainability claims

I recently read an article predicting the mega trends likely to play out in food and drink in the coming year and thought I'd look at how this is manifesting itself in claims made by the brands, specifically with sustainability-related claims.

With a typical Tesco store carrying 25,000 food & bev lines this is a massive undertaking so I have restricted myself to initially investigating major brands in cereal-containing categories: anything from bread and morning goods to biscuits, cakes, breakfast cereals, cereal bars, pasta and savoury snacks. Look out for a follow-up article on other categories soon!

The following constitute general trend observations across several cereal-derived product categories:

The first surprise was how few products (in Tesco) carried the B Corp logo - perhaps the ultimate sustainability "badge". The only companies flaunting their status were Graze, Bio & Me and Fuel (out of more than 60 brands surveyed). It's possible that some companies are certified but choose not to put the logo on pack (but if you were, you would, wouldn't you?) or are in the process of attaining certification. When you consider how much the major players such as Mondelez, General Mills, Pladis, Kellogg's and Fox's / Burtons dominate these fixtures then perhaps it's not so surprising. An opportunity missed?

Health & nutrition claims. I'm including these under the people i.e. customers pillar.

• no hydrogenated fats, artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. This claim is so popular as to be almost meaningless. It has become nearly ubiquitous so is no longer a differentiator. Do consumers simply assume all products are now free of these undesirables? Appears more frequently on more highly processed products e.g. Waggon Wheels.
• low / reduced fat. This claim is still worryingly prevalent since most people in the know now realise that fat per se is not our enemy. Just because a product happens to be low fat, doesn't mean that this fact should be highlighted as a benefit.
• source of fibre / high in fibre / good for your gut. Still a popular claim and only likely to continue to be so with the rise and rise of gut health. Wholegrain claims still often made and seen as a key health benefit, particularly in breakfast cereals.
• high / added protein. Claim made on only a few products. Surprising given the current focus on encouraging people to consume more of the stuff! Especially as it should play into the naturally high protein levels of cereals.
• gluten-free. I could find just 1 brand making a GF claim (Eat Natural cereal bars) which seems to represent a significant opportunity?

Dietary claims. This covers people with specific requirements due to health and medical issues as well as religious and moral / lifestyle / environmental choices:

• suitable for vegetarians / vegans. Highly prevalent. Again, not surprising due to people's ever-increasing desire to move towards a plant-based diet. Almost seen as a "must-have" in these categories.
• Kosher / Halal. Census figures indicate that nearly 6% of the UK population identify as Muslim (and 0.5% as Jewish) so it's perhaps surprising that so few products surveyed (3 out of 83) were certified Halal and 5 certified Kosher. These were breads and breakfast cereals. Another missed opportunity?
• Navilens Go for the visually impaired. This is an interesting one, being found on Kellogg's and Weetabix cereals.
• Betreatwise.net - an attempt by the manufacturers of "unhealthier" cereal products (cakes, biscuits etc.) to educate consumers about the health imperatives of a balanced diet
• 123healthybalance.com - website where Pladis inform interested consumers of their strategies to improve the health of their products

Planet claims. Covers recycling (& recycled content) as well as conservation and responsible sourcing initiatives:

• recyclable packaging. A complex subject with little continuity of messaging across categories and brands. It is a topic which brands clearly deem important to the consumer as nearly all products in some way try to convey that at least some elements of their packaging can be recycled and bear messages encouraging the purchaser to do so.
• recycled packaging. Only 3 out of 83 products surveyed claimed to incorporate an element of recycled packaging. It's beyond the expertise of the author to suggest why this figure should be so low but surely this represents another opportunity for improvement?
• Forestry Steward Council (FSC) packaging. Used by Graze and Jordan's Cereals. Why do the big brands such as Kellogg's and General Mills (Nature Valley) not deem this sufficiently important to adopt?
• Red Tractor. Of all the products surveyed, the logo only appears on Weetabix products. Surprising given the scheme's focus on farming. Indicative that customers don't understand its meaning? Or it doesn't possess the necessary kudos to build trust with them?
• responsibly / ethically sourced [key ingredient]. Claim made by Kellogg's on corn (Corn Flakes), by Bahlsen and Cadbury's on chocolate (on TimeOut) and by Loacker on the flavour ingredient in each flavour variant e.g. Madagascan Bourbon vanilla. "In-house" (as opposed to independent) schemes generally used. RSPO certified palm oil claimed on 3 products although the author didn't note how many of the surveyed products contain palm oil
• other specific schemes of note. McVities Pengiun's tie-up with Zoological Society of London (the connection is obvious) and Jordan Cereals partnership with The Wildlife Trusts, committing to helping farmers convert at least 10% of their land to protected wildlife habitat

Profit. Not strictly relevant to claims, the only items I will include here are those that build consumer trust by highlighting longevity or provenance:

• longevity e.g. Tunnocks "established 1890 and still a family business", Sharwood's "since 1889" and Fox's "since 1853". Flaunt it if you can I say! But there is a distinct split between the "traditional" businesses such as those above and the "new kids on the block" such as Graze, Eat Natural, Oggs, Moma, Plantastic etc. who throw the focus onto other positive brand and product attributes e.g. B Corp Certification. They aren't necessarily in direct competition with each other, I'm simply highlighting the difference in approach.
• provenance. An area with an air of ambiguity! Brands love to play the "made in Britain" card whenever possible but sometimes don't tell the full story by claiming "baked in Britain" (Nairns and Borders) which suggests that their major ingredients may not in fact be British. Being made in Italy is almost essential to convey the authenticity of pasta products as is being from New York for bagels!