BRILLIANT BRANDING
BRANDING WITH A PURPOSE EXPLORING RETAIL’S FEEL-GOOD AWAKENING By Gabriella Bock // Managing Editor
No longer just a movement for granola moms and self-identified spiritual gangsters, the eco-revolution is here—and it’s greener than ever.
Ten years ago, most Americans would scoff at the notion of labeling 7-Eleven or Walmart a healthy or environmentally-responsible brand. But as rising sea levels and expanding waistlines continue to turn consumers toward demands for health and environmental improvements, brands that were once driven solely by low prices and convenience are now finding themselves under a public microscope. In result, many legacy retailers are incorporating a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)—or two—into their brand identities.
Creating Heathier Humans Leslie Pasquad, a senior partner at Kantar Consulting with over ten years of experience helping brands achieve sustainable category leadership, told RETHINK Retail that companies that are overperforming in 2019 are more likely to be “humancentric,” and that brands recognized for “purpose” grow “2x as fast” than those who aren’t.
“A growing number of consumers recognize the need to address the challenges we are facing as a species,” Pasquad said. “These same people are acutely aware of the power of brands and businesses to address the pressing issues that society faces and have increasingly high expectations that they do so.” The United States is notoriously home to one of the unhealthiest populations in the Western world, much of which is attributed to poor eating habits and a culturally-normalized sedentary lifestyle. Diabetes, heart disease and obesity round out the top chronic diseases facing Americans today, and after years of unhealthy, brand-created diet fads, American consumers are now demanding their favorite foods come without additives, GMOs or harmful pesticides. That’s why giant companies like General Mills, Kellogg’s, Nestle and Mars have all made commitments to remove artificial food dyes from their products while quick-stop chains like 7-Eleven are
WWW.RETHINK.INDUSTRIES
81