SUSTAINABILITY Predicting consumer behaviour


The global Covid-19 pandemic has affected how consumers approach the non-alcoholic beverage aisle – water is likely to be picked up in greater quantities, while carbonates and RTD tea and coffee are both expected to see a significant drop in popularity in the next three years compared with previous forecasts.


Since the outbreak, growth predictions have shifted significantly, revealing how consumer behaviours will change. Water is set to be the standout performer in the next three years, as the categories slowdown – or post-Covid-19 outbreak – CAGR is the only one expected to remain stable compared with the baseline (pre-Covid-19) CAGR. Health and wellness trends are at the core of this, as they are currently being boosted due to the global health crisis at hand, leading people to actively seek out healthier products.


Carbonates are also impacted, albeit negatively, by the consumer’s desire for healthy beverages, and is set to be the worst-performing category post-Covid-19. The category usually relies on a strong on-the-go appeal, which has lost its potency. In the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak, cocooning behaviours – staying at home and in a comfortable, safe bubble – is likely the new norm for consumers, leading to beverages that are aimed at on-the-go consumption occasions, such as carbonates and RTD tea and coffee, to lose in popularity. Brands can prepare for this cocooning


other brand owners, but also farmers, suppliers, bottlers, customers, governments and NGOs. Our collective expertise and influence has the power to deliver a new green reality. This is why you will see companies like PepsiCo participate in even more consortiums and partnerships, and provide support and expertise to others outside our direct business. We have learned that to get more recycled, you need to work with everyone who handles the packaging. To improve CO2


emissions, it’s not just


our manufacturing plants that we will focus on, but our footprint with our suppliers, bottling network, logistic operators and retailers. To develop more sustainable ingredients we need to be in the fields with our growers, sharing expertise on the latest agricultural techniques. To develop a new packaging technology, it requires collective action to make it scalable quickly so you’ll see PepsiCo and others work together on developments like the Pulpex first fully recyclable paper bottle.


A spur to green action


Technology gives you data and that gives you knowledge to reshape your business to a greener


Global thinking


We have a global supply chain like many businesses today, so why do we need to keep driving for changes here in Europe when this isn’t just a European issue. We need global thinking and global adoption of approach. This is particularly the case in areas such as biodiversity.


The Covid-19 pandemic has been a leveller across society. It has caused us all to pause and reflect on a reimagined future, which has greater reverence for our precious planet. Business as usual and the status quo can no longer be the way we operate and I look forward to leading PepsiCo’s efforts to work alongside others to a greener future. ●


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trend by tailoring their products to be more suitable for the at-home occasion. Larger, resealable packs are likely to be favoured, for instance.


Habit, on the other hand, remains a strong pull for consumers to keep buying certain items. Hot drinks, like tea and coffee, often are very habitual and part of an everyday routine. During the ongoing pandemic, many consumers have had their usual routines changed drastically and in a bid to try to hold on to a semblance of normalcy, habit-driven products will remain important to consumers, as illustrated by the retained, positive CAGR. Another way that some consumers are clinging to a constant is by continuing to work-out and engage in exercise at-home, leading to a continued need for energy and sports drinks. This category has dropped from being the fastest growing, to the second fastest post-Covid-19, due to a lack of access to gyms and changing work environments disrupting previous patterns of behaviour. Work situations, for example, have shifted, be it due to lay-offs or a more self- regulated work space at home, therefore, there is less need for an energy pick-me-up.


Covid-19 has already changed consumer behaviours, and many of these changes will carry forward in the future, affecting product perceptions in the long term. Staying up-to-date on the latest consumer behaviour development will remain critical in understanding what the future of every industry will look like.


path. We’re building technology into every part of our business as we plan for a sustainable future. This goes from our farmers who are using crop- monitoring technology in our fields in Europe to our plants, where we are using artificial intelligence to map out our water use, to building a digital twin of our logistics network to understand our CO2 emission levels. Technology has the power to create breakthrough insights to make seismic change.


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