A Better Way to Market Sustainable Products: Insights from NYU Stern and PwC
Sustainable products grow in demand. Companies face hard work to market them well. NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business and PwC share ideas. They show ways to boost market potential and trust for sustainable products.
Growth and Price Premiums of Sustainable Products
• Strong Sales Growth: Data from 12 years and 36 CPG categories shows products with a sustainability focus grow at 12.3% per year (2019–2024). This rate is 2.3 times faster than for standard products.
• Market Share: In 2024, sustainable products make up 23.8% of all sales in these groups.
• Price Premiums: Consumers pay more for green choices. A PwC study (2024) with 20,000 respondents shows an average willingness to pay 9.7% extra. Real-life premiums average 26.6%—over 100% for some paper goods and near 50% for coffee, cereal, and chocolate.
Key Consumer Segments and Category Impact
• Customer Demographics: Millennials, college-educated buyers, city dwellers, and high-income shoppers choose sustainable products more often.
• Wide Category Reach: Green products capture large sales in many groups, like dairy for all ages.
• Actionable Insight: Knowing which customers buy your products guides your targeting and message choices.
Crafting Appealing Sustainability Marketing
Simple, clear links work best. Marketers can mix core product benefits with green values.
• Core Plus Sustainability: NYU Stern and Edelman find that when a key quality (like taste or scent) pairs with one or two green claims, appeal rises by 30 percentage points on average.
• Message Selection: Linking sustainability to what matters in the product helps. For example, say “made with sustainable ingredients that care for your skin” for skincare.
• Actionable Insight: Use 1-2 strong green messages that match the product’s main benefits. This helps it shine.
Elevating Credible Sustainability Claims
Some claims work better than others.
• Highly Effective Messages: Focus claims on clear benefits: protecting health, saving money, supporting local farms, helping future generations, caring for animals, and buying local.
• Less Effective Claims: Technical words and many certification labels (like biodegradable, climate-neutral, traceable) are less persuasive even if they meet rules.
• Risks of Ambiguity: Vague words such as “clean,” “natural,” or “safe” may trigger legal issues, especially for products for children, skin, or food.
• Regulatory Environment: In Europe, rules (like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and EU Green Claims Directive) call for real evidence and transparency to back green claims.
• Actionable Insight: Be clear and precise. Provide proof. Build skills in tracking the supply chain. This ensures that your claims are trustworthy and follow the law.
Conclusion
To capture the power of sustainable products, companies must do three things:
- Learn who their buyers are and what fits each product.
- Craft messages that mix core benefits with green features.
- Choose clear, evidence-based green claims that match consumer needs and follow regulations.
Following these steps, as shown by NYU Stern CSB and PwC, helps build trust, grow sales, and earn a solid price premium for sustainable products.
Authors: Tensie Whelan, Distinguished Professor and Founding Director, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business; David Linich, Principal, PwC US
Design Delight Studio curates high-impact, authoritative insights into sustainable and organic product trends, helping conscious consumers and innovative brands stay ahead in a fast-evolving green economy.
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