Delivering the opening speech at the Consumer Goods Forum Global Summit in London, Joanne Denney-Finch, chief executive of IGD, outlined the commercial reasons for focusing on ethical products and business practice as drivers of growth.
Denney-Finch, said: “Over a trillion dollars of food is traded between countries each year. We draw on a big share of the world’s resources, including 70% of fresh water. We shape the landscape, and diet has a big influence on human health and vitality. So we’re the world’s most important industry and society is asking more and more of us. We need new and sustainable strategies for growth.”
Shopper research conducted by IGD in four main European grocery markets (Great Britain, France, Germany and Spain) found that at least 30% of people mention ethical values as one of the reasons to try something new for the first time.
Denney-Finch, continued: “Ethical values offer us a big opportunity to build trust and customer loyalty, to energise our employees and revitalise growth. Shoppers are including ethical judgements more in their shopping decisions, but they don’t want to pay a lot more – they want value for their values.
“We asked them to look two years ahead and predict where they’ll be spending more. In all four countries, shoppers expect to be spending more on all the ethical areas we asked about. They want to make a bigger difference through their shopping choices and they want companies to help.”
Source: IGD
