For more details, read on!
A basic tenet of branding is that consumers will not buy brands that do not align with their values. Millennials and Gen Z have given new meaning to this.
A study by IBM found that 40% of all consumers, are purpose driven consumers. These consumers have a global presence with the majority, in Europe, South East Asia and Latin America. To this group, the values represented by brands drive their purchasing decision and they are more willing to change their habits to reduce environmental impact than are value (not to be confused with values) driven and product driven consumers.
Then there is the brand driven consumer (majority in India, parts of the Middle East & Latin America) which makes up 13% of all consumers globally. This group stands out in that while the brand is key, this group is even more willing to change habits to ensure sustainability and reduce environmental impact than are values driven consumers. So 53% of consumers are sustainability & values focussed than 10 years ago when value & product driven brands were predominant.
Leading FMCG brands that were also Certified B-Corp, grew by 21% on average in 2017 compared to a national average of 3% across their respective sectors. (B Corp 2018)
It is clear that to drive growth and gain share, FMCG companies need to adopt AND live values that reflect those of their target consumers.
This makes data paramount for FMCG brands. Data on what consumers want, on consumer values, on the channels they frequent and on the boundaries of operation. Brands need to be developed in line with what customers want, like tech companies do with users, rather than how FMCG companies of old developed brands and then told their customers that the brands were what they wanted.