1 in 2 US Consumers Have Switched F&G Brands for Sustainability Reasons

The demand signal in US food and grocery has reached a level that makes it structurally material, not anecdotal.

1 in 2 US consumers report having started or stopped using a food and grocery brand based on the brand’s social and environmental behaviour. For Millennials and consumers with children, that rate rises to 7 in 10. The brands at the top of the SRS table are receiving switching inflows at twice the rate of the average tracked brand.

These are not attitudinal numbers. The survey methodology asks specifically about behaviour in the past 12 months, brands actually started or stopped using based on ESG credentials, as a proportion of those who were aware of each brand. The design is constructed to minimise social desirability bias and focus on reported action.

The switching data across departments is instructive. Every single department in US food and grocery shows sustainability-driven switching rates between 30 and 40%. There is no category immune from the signal. The highest-risk departments (Health and Beauty, Meat, Beverage, Household) run toward the top of the range. The lower-risk departments (Bakery, Dairy and Eggs) still run at up to one in three consumers.

For brands in the lowest-switching categories: a one-in-three consumer switching rate is not a low risk profile. If 30% of category consumers have started or stopped a brand based on sustainability perception in the past year, and your brand does not have a clear ESG signal in market, the question is not whether you are at risk. It is whether you are measuring the risk.

The brands receiving inflows at twice the average rate are not doing twice as much. They are communicating more clearly. The switching data is the commercial consequence of the communications gap.