NielsenIQ's research results in 20 countries show that consumers are changing their consumption behaviours toward a more sustainable lifestyle, including reducing plastic waste, only buying essential goods, and classifying waste as recycling.
Towards a sustainable life
In recent years, the trend of safe, natural, and environmentally friendly food has become more and more popular and has become a modern consumption trend. In 2000, the global organic product market was only about 18 billion USD, by 2021, this market revenue will increase sharply to 188 billion USD and reach about 208 billion USD in 2022.
In Vietnam, the trend of consuming clean agricultural products is not out of the general direction of the world. In big cities, it is not difficult to see the image of organic food, clean agricultural products, and fruits. Compared to traditional markets, agricultural products are sold at a much higher price, but they are still preferred by consumers because of their clear origin, inspection, and quality supervision by authorities.
Vietnam has a developed agricultural production in both quantity and quality. "These are favourable factors to help the trend of green consumption develop more strongly in Vietnam in the coming time," said Director of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center (Agritrade) Nguyen Minh Tien.
Directions for businesses
According to Northern Region Manager of NielsenIQ Vietnam Dang Thuy Ha, the key factors influencing consumption behaviours include reasonable prices, safety and hygiene, healthiness, trustworthy brands, environmental sustainability, and friendliness, which allow retailers to employ several strategies to encourage green consumption.
Ha suggested common options such as using electric vehicles for transport, providing organic products, reducing food waste, or offering loyalty rewards for purchasing sustainable products.
In recent years, many green consumption models have gained popularity in the community, such as using banana leaves to package fruits and vegetables or using glass water bottles and bamboo or paper straws, replacing plastic cups with paper cups, and using fabric bags instead of plastic bags.
Ha advised manufacturers to carry out the efficiency of their emission reduction action plans by internal or third-party experts, replace and reduce plastics in packaging and commit to using sustainable and eco-friendly energy.
At the same time, they should develop technologies to collect data on emission levels and apply sensor, AI, and automation technologies to improve supply chains and reduce the waste of water, energy, and materials.
