Sustainability Has Priority: Customers Accept Higher Prices

More than 80 percent of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable packaging. However, most consumers also want to be better informed. This was the result of a representative online survey.

In March, the strategy and marketing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners surveyed 1001 consumers on the subject of sustainable product packaging. Almost three quarters of the participants in this representative online survey say they attach importance to sustainable packaging. 83 percent are willing to pay more for it, on average even as much as an extra 6.5 percent.

For consumers, packaging is sustainable above all if it is biodegradable and made of recycled or recyclable materials. When asked about the most sustainable packaging materials, paper/cardboard (70 percent) and glass (62 percent) stand out the most. Beverage cartons, plastic, and cans, on the other hand, only occupy the lower places according to the survey results.

Lack of information

Only eleven percent feel sufficiently well informed regarding the sustainability of packaging. “The results show that for many consumers, sustainability is primarily associated with topics that can be clearly assigned, such as recyclability. The lack of information means that further background information cannot be classified. The industry should urgently address this information deficit to make the sustainability of other materials clear and to prevent misinformation,” says Dr. Daniel Bornemann, partner and expert for Paper & Packaging at Simon-Kucher & Partners.