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Center for Sustainable Business | Sustainable Market Share Index™

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CSB Research

Sustainable Market Share Index™

CSB partnered with Circana (formerly IRI) for its annual analysis of consumer purchasing data for  consumer packaged goods marketed as sustainable.


Sustainable Market Share Index™

The Sustainable Market Share Index is an annual analysis of the latest national purchasing data for consumer packaged good (CPG) products marketed as sustainable. NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB) partners with Circana (formerly IRI), who generously donated the purchasing data of products marketed with sustainability attributes in 36 CPG categories (excluding alcohol and tobacco), comprising ~40% of the total CPG market in sales from 2013-2022. CSB uses this data to report on the market share for sustainable products and what factors are contributing to its continued growth. Pioneered by Senior Scholar Randi Kronthal-Sacco, each year's report builds on previous analysis and addresses new research questions based on current trends. Click here to read the full 2022 report, and see below of key findings for this year and previous reports.

 

The 2022 Sustainable Market Share Index™ finds that products marketed as sustainable are responsible for nearly a third of the growth in consumer packaged goods (CPGs) from 2013 to 2022, and market share growth continues year over year.

Sustainability-marketed products continue to grow despite high inflation.

  • Products marketed as sustainable now hold a 17.3% market share, up +0.3 percentage points versus 2021, continuing to grow in the face of high inflationary environment.
  • Products marketed as sustainable grew ~2x faster than products not marketed as sustainable and achieved a 5-YR CAGR of 9.43% vs. 4.98% for its conventional counterparts.
  • The market share continues to grow despite significant growth of private label store brands.

The price premium of products marketed as sustainable continued to shrink relative to 2018, to a price premium of 27.6%* vs. their conventional counterparts.
*weighted by sustainable dollars

  • Sustainability-marketed products have a price premium of 27.6% vs. their conventionally marketed branded counterparts, but the differential has decreased since 2018.**
  • Given recent inflationary pressures, conventionally marketed products experienced higher price increases (17.8%) than sustainability marketed products (9.9%).**

**excluding private label

“Our annual research definitively shows that sustainable products survived inflation,” said Randi Kronthal-Sacco, Senior Scholar at the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business (CSB), who pioneers the research initiative. "In a clear nod to changing consumer preferences, we are encouraged to see that several large legacy brands have also begun to adopt sustainable benefits in their product lineup."
 

Despite the fact that sustainability-marketed products are less than one-fifth of the market, they delivered nearly one-third of the CPG market growth (2013-2022).

Sustainability-marketed products grew approximately twice as as fast as conventionally marketed products and the CPG market.

 


Report Graphic

View the Full Research Findings

Questions about the research?

Contact Randi Kronthal-Sacco

Green Chemistry

Leveraging CSB's point of sale consumer purchase analysis in addition to case studies, economic value-add analysis, and prior research, this multi-method study draws findings from the recent and projected growth of green chemistry as a fast-growing investment opportunity.

Research Questions

To conduct the research, CSB analyzed data from across 36 product categories, representing approximately 40% of total CPG sales, excluding tobacco and alcohol. Click on the research questions below for data findings.

Consumer Purchasing Insights From the 2022 Practice Forum

Watch CSB's Randi Kronthal-Sacco present findings from the 2022 Sustainable Market Share Index™ study and discuss insights with Nishat Mehta, President, Global Solution at Circana (formerly IRI).


Sustainable Market Share Index™ Reports

2019 Sustainable Market Share Index™ Report

In the inaugural Sustainable Market Share Index Report, a five-year dataset representing CPG purchasing from 2013-2018 was analyzed to benchmark the following: 

  • Have purchases of sustainable products increased over time?
  • Are there specific product categories for which the purchases of more sustainable product options out- or underperform less sustainable alternatives?

2020 Sustainable Market Share Index™ Report

The 2020 Sustainable Market Share Index™ Report features an update to market share and category analysis, as well as expanded research to identify the following:

  • Have sustainable purchases been impacted by COVID-19?
  • Are green chemistry products outperforming conventional formulations?
  • What is the impact of price on purchases of sustainable products?
  • What is the demographic profile of the sustainable purchaser?
  • How have sustainable products fared in e-commerce?

2021 Sustainable Market Share Index™ Report

The 2021 Sustainable Market Share Index Report revisits all previous research questions with updated 2021 data, and new analysis to answer the following additional questions:

  • How important has sustainability become in new product development?
  • What is the impact of product availability on share?

Publications & Press