Warning: what you are about to read is not politically correct.
But the facts are telling – most consumers will NOT pay a premium for products that claim to be sustainable.
Yes, they say they will, but they also say they will eat healthy, which has not stopped McDonald’s, Frito-Lay and others from being among the most successful companies in the food business.
To be clear, we all want corporate America to be more ecologically friendly and move as aggressively as they can to market brands and products that are more sustainable.
But let’s not kid ourselves with bad research that says consumers will pay a premium for such products, when only a small fraction of them will.
And for the record, consumers shouldn’t have to pay a premium, because socially conscious manufacturers should strive to make their brands and products more ecologically friendly, sustainable, etc. and charge less to encourage consumers to prefer these products.
But let’s also not let invalid research bias our decisions, as so many of our consulting competitors are doing.
Again, sustainability is good and important, but most consumers are NOT willing to pay a premium for it.
Yes, they say they will, but they also say they will eat healthy, which has not stopped McDonald’s, Frito-Lay and others from being among the most successful companies in the food business.
To be clear, we all want corporate America to be more ecologically friendly and move as aggressively as they can to market brands and products that are more sustainable.
But let’s not kid ourselves with bad research that says consumers will pay a premium for such products, when only a small fraction of them will.
And for the record, consumers shouldn’t have to pay a premium, because socially conscious manufacturers should strive to make their brands and products more ecologically friendly, sustainable, etc. and charge less to encourage consumers to prefer these products.
But let’s also not let invalid research bias our decisions, as so many of our consulting competitors are doing.
Again, sustainability is good and important, but most consumers are NOT willing to pay a premium for it.
