5 ways food businesses can supercharge their net zero progress through customer diets

The rise of plant-based diets is more than just a fleeting trend; it marks a significant shift in consumer behaviour that food businesses cannot afford to overlook. Beyond meeting growing customer demand, these dietary shifts offer an untapped opportunity to address one of the most critical challenges food businesses face: achieving net zero. By actively promoting and facilitating changes in customer diets, businesses can play a pivotal role in reducing emissions, particularly those within Scope 3—where the majority of food industry emissions lie.

Why Businesses Need to Act

For businesses, customer diets are an overlooked but essential lever in achieving net zero. They represent both a challenge and an opportunity:

1. Scope 3 Emissions Reduction: Dietary shifts can directly reduce emissions within supply chains, helping brands, retailers, and manufacturers meet their sustainability targets.

2. Resilient Supply Chains: Diversifying protein sources reduces dependency on resource-intensive food production, which is vulnerable to climate change impacts.

3. Consumer Demand: With 74% of UK consumers wanting more plant-based options (Kantar), businesses that lead on dietary shifts can secure a competitive advantage.

What Good Looks Like: 5 Ways Businesses Can Deliver

1. Make Sustainable Proteins Appealing with Better Product Placement and Signalling
   Strategic product placement and clear, enticing messaging can make plant-based foods more desirable. Tesco, for instance, uses creative in-store displays to highlight beans and pulses, presenting them as part of a ‘better basket’ for customers. Beans and pulses not only address the UK’s 10g per day fibre deficit but also improve soil health through nitrogen fixation, supporting regenerative agriculture.

2. Invest in Promotional Campaigns to Highlight the Appeal of Plant Proteins
   Promotional spending is critical for building awareness and driving sales. From in-store activations to branded partnerships, businesses can showcase the versatility of plant proteins. Evidence shows that products on promotion can increase sales by 30–50%, making this a key lever for encouraging sustainable choices.

3. Disclose Data and Set Sales-Based Targets to Shift the Protein Ratio
   Transparency drives accountability. By disclosing sales data and setting clear targets for plant-to-animal protein ratios, businesses can guide consumers towards more sustainable shopping habits. This isn’t about eliminating meat but fostering protein diversity. For example, Lidl’s target to deliver 20% protein sales from plants by 2025 sets a benchmark for retail ambition.

4. Reformulate Plant-Based Products to Improve their Nutrient Profile
   While plant-based products are often better for the environment, some have less favourable nutrient profiles, such as high salt content. Reformulating these products to meet public health guidelines ensures they’re not just sustainable but also nutritionally appropriate, and offer healthy choices.

5. Embed Fortification within Product Development and Renovation Strategies
   Micronutrient fortification is an often-overlooked opportunity in plant-based innovation. By incorporating essential vitamins and minerals, businesses can address nutrient gaps while complying with HFSS (high fat, salt, sugar) regulations, creating products that are both sustainable and health-forward.

The Opportunity for Leadership

Customer diets are one of the most impactful yet underutilised tools in the net zero transition. By rethinking how businesses position, market, and develop sustainable products, businesses can turn a public health challenge into a climate solution. The companies that embrace this shift will not only help meet critical emissions targets but also cement their place as leaders in the food industry’s transformation.