FDBusiness.com

According to Euromonitor’s new Ethical Labels data, in 2015 over 40% of sustainable palm oil labels in packaged food comes from breakfast cereals with only 1% from confectionery.

Passport Ethical Labels is Euromonitor’s brand new database created in response to the growing movement towards social responsibility and sustainability. Ethical Labels is designed to quantify the sales of packaged food and beverage products centred around three main platforms: People/Values, Environment/Sustainability and Animal Welfare. Currently, Euromonitor’s in-depth research covers 26 markets.

TOP 10 CATEGORIES FOR SUSTAINABLE PALM OIL

Ethical Labels by Size | Historic/Forecast | Retail Value RSP | Annual Total | US$ mn | Constant 2015 Prices | Fixed 2015 Exchange Rates

Ewa Hudson, Head of Health and Wellness research, comments: “With half of all food products containing palm oil, food companies are some of the biggest users of the ingredient but there is increasing pressure on them to move to sustainably sourced variants. Ironically, the popularity of palm oil was driven, in part, by consumer pressure on the food industry to switch to trans-fat-free alternatives to partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. However consumer priorities are constantly changing, and ethical consumption is flavour of the year in many markets.”

She continus: “Palm oil is becoming an increasingly hot topic in the food industry and there’s a growing awareness amongst consumers of food’s impact on the environment, from the larger issues of waste and greenhouse gas emissions, through to the use of palm oil and its environmental footprint. While there has been a concerted effort by the food industry to ensure the supply of palm oil is transparent and sustainable, companies could find that they have to pay a price one way or another if they don’t switch to certified palm oil soon: either by alienating green consumers, or having to pay a premium for an alternative sustainable ingredient.”

The data also shows:

• Recycling, followed by prominently displayed local sourcing, religious label and clean label, clearly lead ethically labelled food and drinks globally.
• At global level, The Coca-Cola Co takes the lead, selling US$73.0 billion worth of products with at least one ethical label. Within this figure, products carrying the widely recycled label are worth US$67.0 billion, those holding the kosher label sell for US$8.0 billion, products with no artificial preservatives sell for US$4.0 billion and products which are locally sourced are worth US$3.0 billion
• With expected growth of 48% (equal to US$5.0 billion) between 2015 and 2020, the from sustainable/renewable sources label will be the most dynamic, followed by halal and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council), set to rise by 28% and 23%, respectively.
• Values that resonate with consumers are highly country and product specific. For example, for a chocolate manufacturer in the UK, Fairtrade is the label to invest in, whist for a sugar confectionery player in the US, the kosher label has become a must have, whilst, at the same time, carrying the all natural claim may help a company gain competitive advantage.
• Nestlé takes the lead in clean label products, with an 8% value share, followed fairly closely by PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Unilever.

For more information on Ethical Labels data visit http://blog.euromonitor.com/category/ethical-labels.