Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Carbon labeling, promises to be carbon neutral, positive emerge as top trend Whether or not you believe in climate change or the food industry’s contribution to the greenhouse gasses wrapping the earth and changing weather patterns, plenty of consumers do, and they increasingly are buying products based on their environmental impact – elevating sustainability and carbon labeling from political talking points to business priorities.
Currently only a handful of companies disclose on packaging the total amount of carbon produced during the manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal of food products, but many more see the writing on the wall and are developing rating and labeling programs to inform consumers about their products’ environmental impact.
Consumer and regulatory pressure is mounting once again for the CPG industry to cut back on the use single-use plastics, Styrofoam and other non-recyclable packaging despite a temporary reprieve during the pandemic when safety and hygiene fears outweighed environmental concerns.
Soup-To-Nuts Podcast: Mood boosting beverages, non-alcoholic options rise with ‘sober curious’ movement For many Americans in 2020, pouring a stiff drink at the end of the day – or in the middle of it – was less about socializing with friends and more about coping with the chaos of the pandemic, and while many of the challenges from last year remain – research shows fewer people plan on turning to alcohol in the New Year and instead are embracing non-alcoholic and functional beverages as a healthier alternatives.
At least temporarily.
According to research from the alcohol alternative beverage brand DRY Botanical Bubbly, 33% of the Americans plan partake this year in a traditional or modified ‘dry January,’ a month in which participants hit a hard reset on the indulgences that typically come with the holiday season by giving up or drastically cutting back on alcohol consumption.