Oatly quickly rose to popularity within the plant-based milk industry – now valued at a whopping $200B. With it’s fun marketing and high quality products, the brand exploded – especially with the recent rise in vegan diets and consumers’ growing environmental concerns with the food industry.
But recently, their success has run into some issues. Some Oatly-lovers are now calling on others to boycott the company “after hearing it had received funds from a Trump-supporting, anti-sustainability equity firm.”
Politics aside, boycotting companies (due to their environmental impact or political interests) is extremely common these days. And it represents a big shift in the way consumers think and consume today.
Customers are more sophisticated than ever before. Personalization, quality, and positive environmental impacts are of growing concern to the modern consumer. In one recent survey, 65% of respondents said they want to buy from purpose-driven brands that advocate sustainability.
Companies like Unilever, Danone, and Salesforce reject the idea that a firm exists to maximize value to its shareholders. That’s primarily because the new dominant wave of consumers are Millennials – a socially conscious generation who want to spend their money responsibly.
For venues and large events specifically, consumers are increasingly more conscious of the waste created at a three-day festival or packed stadium. More and more, we see festivals and large events switch to reusable cup options in an effort to reduce their environmental impact and appeal to Millennial and Gen Z consumers.
In implementing reusable cup systems, these events have the opportunity to make a positive impact on the planet and their business. In fact, reusables don’t have to be a burden to business. With Globelet, 80% of our clients have actually turned our reusable platform into a new revenue stream. Want to read more about some of Globelet’s success stories? Learn more here.
As we’ve seen with Oatly and many other big brands, companies must take a holistic approach when considering their social and environmental impact on society.
Source: https://www.greenmatters.com/p/oatly-controversy
https://hbr.org/2019/07/the-elusive-green-consumer
