We’re tracking the rise of sustainable direct-to-consumer (DTC) food subscription services, fuelled by demand from increasingly eco-conscious customers. 73% of UK customers think it’s important to buy food with a low environmental impact (Food Standards Agency, 2021).
With DTC brands better positioned to control their supply chain, they’re able to reduce their eco footprint throughout the whole product lifecycle – from production and packaging to delivery – whilst offering greater transparency of the benefits step-by-step. Subscription models can help to overcome the barriers of inconvenience and inaccessibility many customers face when trying to make every day sustainable choices.
Grubby, the UK’s first vegan recipe box subscription service, now includes the carbon footprint of each meal on its website. Every dish has a rating from A (low carbon footprint) to E (high) calculated using a lifecycle assessment of each plant-based ingredient. Customers can also compare the carbon footprint of their vegan meal with the meat equivalent. Meals are delivered in compostable packaging, using bicycles or electric scooters where possible.
Dizzie is a refill-only grocery brand that aims to reduce waste and achieve an entirely closed loop shopping experience. Customers can choose from pantry food, household cleaning, and health and wellness products from a combination of own-brand Dizzie products and likeminded independent brands. It’s easy to search and browse products, with customers able to filter their search by dietary requirements or values e.g., carbon neutral, fair trade, vegan. Orders are delivered and picked up by carbon neutral delivery.
Household takeout
DTC brands have real opportunity, especially in a cost-of-living crisis where spending is under scrutiny, to make sustainable and ethical choices as easy and appealing as possible. Other brands and sectors can learn from these disruptive brand behaviours to drive greater relevancy and reach in challenging times.
Get in touch with Household if you would like us to explore how your business can learn from disruptive brands to connect with increasingly cost and eco-conscious customers.
Also in the news:
Retail:
Aldi plans to open new eco-store format as a testbed for sustainable new brand behaviours and architecture
IKEA trials click and click partnership with Tesco to increase access to products
Primark trials self-checkout to reduce in-store queues
Hospitality:
Accor plans to open its first dual-branded hotel in Japan
Campaigns:
Monopoly depicts the lessons learnt from losing in its ‘Fighting Is Good’ campaign
Initiatives:
SPAR tackles food waste through tech partnership with Whywaste
Alibaba rolls out luxury Metaverse shopping experience
Image courtesy of Grubby
