In a world that is changing at lightning speed, consumer behaviour is subject to profound transformations. Consumers’ loyalty, for example, is increasingly linked to responses that correspond to their values and the expectations generated by a product or brand.

Consumption needs to be meaningful

Whether it is a case of self-care, helping to care for the planet, moral values or simply enjoying oneself, today’s consumers perceive a certain consistency in their consumption by giving meaning to their choices. Their role as a contributor is becoming fundamental to the extent that it may prove harmful to companies and businesses to ignore it, believing that it is no more than a passing trend. Today’s consumers prefer genuine engagement, consuming products in which they find sincerity, coherence etc.

An approach enshrined in CSR

These three letters stand for Corporate Social Responsibility, i.e. an approach intended to reflect a company’s contribution to sustainable development by responding to consumers’ current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to fulfil their own needs.

Moreover, this phenomenon goes far beyond food consumption, and the criteria that consumers are above all looking for mainly involve:

• the quality and traceability of ingredients or materials
• the impact of production on the environment
• the responsibility approach

In other words, everything needs to be meaningful. This widespread phenomenon is currently affecting society as a whole, and every sector of the economy, with varying degrees of maturity. It implies a desire to act on one’s own behalf and gain personal advantage before contributing in a wider sense to the needs of others and the environment.

So, it is a phenomenon to be watched carefully to see how it develops…