Demystifying the ‘say-do’ gap in sustainable product purchases

The opinions expressed here by Trellis expert contributors are their own, not those of Trellis.

Companies have long complained about the “say-do gap”: Consumers say they want to buy sustainable products and that they’re willing to pay a premium, but don’t actually do so. Yet recent research shows a different say-do gap: consumers are buying, but companies aren’t advertising to them, creating an enormous business opportunity.

Meeting consumer demand

Sustainability-marketed consumer packaged goods are responsible for nearly 45 percent of the growth in U.S. consumer packaged goods in the last 13 years, according to new data from NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) in partnership with Circana. Sustainability-marketed consumer packaged goods (CPG) products grew 4.9 times faster than conventional products at a 27 percent premium on average. 

In addition, 85 percent of U.S. consumers agree that they’re more likely to buy a product if the brand engages in sustainable practices, up five percentage points. However, Globescan’s annual survey of consumers finds they’ve become less likely to say brands have reached out to them on sustainability. Last year, only 31 percent of consumers said they had heard a great deal or some sustainability information from brands versus 50 percent  of consumers in 2022. 

Moreover, a recent study found only 4 percent of brands mention sustainability in advertising and that the majority was related to electric vehicles. Interestingly, our  research finds that CPG companies with revenues of $8 billion or more are lagging the index, meaning they’re not deploying their bigger budgets on sustainability. 

In the U.S., CSB finds 25 percent of CPG products are sold as sustainable, up from 13 percent  in 2013. Even if consumers are exaggerating their interest, the difference between 85 percent of consumers being more likely to buy a product if it’s sustainable and the 25 percent that actually are sold that way suggests consumer demand isn’t being met.

An opportunity for brands

Recent news has focused on the challenges of big CPG companies such as Kraft Heinz and Unilever, resulting from price increases amid inflation and concerns related to the current oil crisis. In turn, investors have been sending CPG stock prices lower, encouraging sales of assets and reducing costs.

But pundits, analysts and investors are missing the point: consumers have been moving away from conventional packaged goods and toward sustainable alternatives for year.  

It’s time for brands to take notice. From 2022 to 2025, the growth of store brands and sustainable brands grew from 21.6 percent to 22.6 percent and 19.7 percent to 25.4 percent respectively.  Consumers are buying the less expensive store brand products, but they’re buying more of the high premium sustainable products.  

It’s clear, then, that conventional brands that aren’t creating and promoting sustainable products are losing market share. 

In our research, we’ve also found a broad mainstreaming of sustainable purchasing. While low income, lower educational level, older and rural residents tend to purchase fewer sustainability-marketed products, the gap has been narrowing. In fact, for a number of categories, we see mainstream purchasing across all demographics, with sustainable dairy at 90 percent  market share, sustainable yogurt at 70 percent market share and soap at 60 percent market share, regardless of income, location, age or education.

There’s no doubt that the U.S. consumer is price sensitive. But these same consumers are willing to pay more for value and value today means sustainable and healthy. For CPG, sustainable product offerings can no longer be a side interest for a niche consumer base.