40% of Italians expect to buy more food and drink with sustainable packaging in the next 12 months. For 80% of Italians, it is important to know how packaging is recycled and what happens to the material after recycling.
On the occasion of Marca (Bologna, 16-17 January) by BolognaFiere, the update of the Nomisma Consumer Packaging Observatory was presented.
The presentation focused on the results of a survey carried out among a representative sample of purchasing managers aged between 18 and 70, with the aim of identifying the sustainable lifestyles and habits of Italians, focusing on the role of sustainable packaging in the food purchasing process of Italians.
The research shows that Italians are becoming increasingly aware of the problems associated with climate change: more than 6 out of 10 consider it to be one of the world's most serious problems and around a third consider the climate crisis and its effects to be one of their main concerns for the next 12 months. A concern that comes second only to those related to the high cost of living, which has eroded the purchasing power of Italian families over the past year.
For 32% of Italians, sustainability, together with environmental concerns, is a determining factor in their behaviour and purchasing choices, while 59% say they take it into account: 1 out of 2 Italians say they make more sustainable consumption choices than they did 5 years ago. Specifically, energy and water is the area where 82% of households pay the most attention, followed by food and drink purchases (66%) and mobility and travel (42%). For Italians, sustainability also extends to the shopping trolley, and the sustainability of the packaging is a key factor in the sustainability of a food product.
Which sustainability features are most important to Italian families when shopping? Top of the list is the absence of excess packaging (59%), fully recyclable packaging (58%), packaging produced with reduced CO2 emissions (46%), made from recycled material (45%) or biodegradable (44%). There is also a strong focus on reusable packaging.
In addition, almost 8 out of 10 Italians consider it important to know about the recycling process and the second life of recycled materials. The role of the retailer's brand is also important: 68% of consumers say they bought MDD products because they had more sustainable packaging than other brands; in 1 out of 2 cases, the retailer's brand is the first choice when it comes to buying products with sustainable packaging.
