Monday, October 5, 2009

Sustainable Supermarkets and Green Grocery Stores are wanted globally!



Top of the week to you! I was sent the article / research from a friend Linda Williams. The research was conducted in the summer or 2009 by Synovate, utilizing a global footprint and published in what they call “ In: Fact” . Since many of my readers may not have seen this I am going to quote the part of the study that discuss sustainability and green stores:


And no, we're not referring to broccoli! Clearly all-things-green are a major consideration for any business. And with 62% agreeing they would go out of their way to shop at an environmentally-friendly supermarket, that consideration is not misplaced.

This drive-to-green is led by 86% of Russian respondents and 85% of Malaysians. Murphy says Malaysians do react well to companies that are genuinely adopting environmental policies.

"In the last few years we have seen more efforts – and very public efforts – by retailers to bring in environmentally-friendly products and policies like fewer plastic bags and so on."

Least interested were the Dutch but Anita Cox, Insights Director at Synovate in the Netherlands tells us that's simply because it's a given in that country.

"These practices have been in place for ten to twenty years in small stores and around five years in chain stores, so Dutch grocery buyers don't have to go out of their way to buy green."

Across the 10 markets surveyed, 79% of respondents found the idea of recycling facilities in supermarkets and grocery stores interesting. Ninety percent in Brazil agreed it was a good idea, followed by 89% in Serbia and 88% in Malaysia.

Again, the Dutch were nonplussed (31% disagreed it was interesting, the highest score), no doubt because these facilities have been in place for many years!

All of us must be mindful of the public desires for “better for you”. This article published by Synovate validates on a global basis one of the key components in moving forward with new products, stores and messaging within the retail Grocerant food industry. Contact me for more at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or leave a comment below. Foodservice Solutions is located in Tacoma, WA

2 comments:

  1. The problem I have with all of this 'sustainability' talk is just what is 'green' and what's yellow? Does the fact that it is green encourage people to 'go green' or is that for someone else to do.
    For instance, I live in a 'green home'. No, it's built from sustainable materials. i.e. NO wood.
    My realtor said I'd have a challenge selling it.
    It's not a dome home. It's a sustainably built home. My point: Is 'green' a hard sell, even in food, if people 'agree' but don't buy? Some other person's challenge. Just a thought.

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  2. In our world you’re correct. “True Green” is expensive and hard to sell. In today’s world however to SPIN something as green, and be factual one only needs to begin the process i.e. change light bulbs. The story begins, and every changed after is incremental, pro-active and resonates well with the consumer.

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