Blue Impact is Good Business Sense
Over the past few years, we have seen significant changes in consumer behavior. Changes in technology and the rise in digital platforms allow consumers to have access to large amounts of information at their fingertips. Consumers are now doing their own research and making more informed buying decisions, prioritising products that align with their own social values. We are seeing consumers rapidly prioritise sustainable and environmentally friendly products, willing to pay premium to ensure their purchases align with their own values. Using Blue Impact is good business sense, switching to a sustainable feed solution that will help your product appeal to environmentally conscious consumers.
The Voice of Consumers
The digital revolution has completely changed how consumers purchase products. Today, consumers have access to vast amounts of information on their smart devices, helping them research, evaluate and make informed buying decisions. Empowered by new digital platforms, consumers not only have access to more information to support their buying decisions but can also influence other consumers. All consumers should now be viewed as critics and co-creators, using these new platforms to influence product develop and voice their satisfaction / dissatisfaction. With the rapidly changing purchasing environment, companies must be quick to adapt, appeal to consumers values and deliver new products that align with consumers values. Sustainability and environmentally friendly products are quickly becoming a priority for a large majority of consumers.
A survey into consumer insights conducted by Haller, Lee & Cheung for IBM, demonstrates how consumers have changed. 40% of respondents can be categorised as purpose-driven consumers, who seek products that align with their values. Additionally, sustainability has reached its tipping point. 78% of respondents indicate that sustainability is important for them and 57% of consumers are willing to change their purchasing habits to support sustainable products. For consumers who indicate sustainability is very important to them, 70% are willing to pay an average premium of 35% to support brands that are sustainable and environmentally friendly. Switching to Blue Impact feeds is good business sense, appealing to the new wave of consumers, helping spread awareness and demonstrate your brand as sustainable and environmentally friendly.
(Haller, Lee & Cheung, IBM)
Transparency of consumer goods
With sustainability fast becoming a priority for so many consumers, offering products that only deliver on one aspect of sustainability is not enough. The majority of consumers are conducting their own in-depth research, scratching beyond the surface of sustainability and evaluating how the products are processed or the sourcing of materials for example. Companies must earn consumers trust, with transparency of goods becoming essential to winning over new customers. In the IBM report mentioned above, 73% of respondents indicate that traceability is important and 84% say that brand trust is important. Once again, we are seeing that consumers are willing to pay with their wallets, with 71% of consumers who state transparency as very important willing to pay a premium for it.
To appeal to consumers, companies must make use of new technologies and demonstrate their commitment to multiple aspects of sustainability and win their trust. Blue Impact users will have access to BioMar’s discovery app. This is the prefect tool to allow farmers to leverage their commitment to sustainability. The app allows us to provide in greater detail transparency on raw materials such as fish meal for example, displaying where the fish meal that was used to create the feed was sourced from. This will allow farmers using Blue Impact to be more transparent and communicate this to their customers, leveraging their commitment to sustainable feed solutions and winning the trust of consumers.
Alternative protein solutions
To fully win consumers’ trust, we must continue to develop sustainable practices within the industry and lead from the front. Organisations must continue to adapt to the changing environment and move into the space of first movers. That is why BioMar will continue to evaluate and put resources into R&D to find sustainable, alternative sources of protein that can be used for Blue Impact diets. Traditionally, consumers have seen raw materials such as soy protein and palm oil as higher risk ingredients. This is because in the past, both soy and palm oil have contributed to deforestation and can have large environmental impacts when not sourced sustainably. Transitioning away from ingredients consumers deem to be high-risk is a great way to fully demonstrate your commitment to sustainability.
For example, Proton has great potential to provide BioMar with an alternative protein source. Proton is sustainably produced using carbon waste by Deep Branch, resulting in a high-quality protein that can be used to substitute other sources of protein such as soy and fish meal. Combining these sustainable alternatives with transparency is a recipe for success to win consumers’ trust. Traceability will allow you to ensure customers that protein sources they deem higher risk have been sustainably sourced through certified organisations, while utilising alternative sources demonstrates your commitment to driving change. Unfortunately, alternative sources of protein will be scarce at first, which is why we can only offer Blue Impact to customers who share our vison of sustainability and are willing to be first movers.
Moving Forward
The digital revolution has changed how consumers and organisations do business. Rapidly changing technology and new digital platforms have given rise to the amount of information available to consumers, shifting the balance in their favor. Consumers are more informed and willing to scratch beyond the surface to ensure their purchases align with their own values. Using a Blue Impact diet is good business sense, switching to a product that delivers on multiple sustainability criteria to appeal to customers who prioritise sustainability. Blue Impact will also provide the tools to allow you to leverage your sustainability, ensuring you have the transparency and traceability to win the trust of customers and create brand loyalty. Switching to Blue Impact diets will continue to encourage consumers to use their wallets to push sustainable developments and transform aquaculture.