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The Green Consumer

Sustainable diners are growing in influence in the restaurant market.

Sustainable consumers are likely to be female, young and college-educated and earn a little more than average consumers.  But they’re not a single, homogeneous group. Here are the three key segments of green:

 Environmental Activists

• Make up 13 to 17 percent of consumers, up to 36 million people
• Knowledgeable  about the issues, from climate change to fair trade and are early adopters and influencers

Organic Eaters

• Make up 17 percent of shoppers
• More concerned about sustaining their own bodies than sustaining the planet; interested in foods that are low-fat and high-fiber.”

Economizers

• Make up 5 percent of consumers
• Dabble or experiment with eco-friendly products to save money; conservation is good if it also conserves cash.

Hard times are not slowing green consumers down.

A survey by the Austin, Texas, marketing firm EviroMedia found that 50 percent of consumers are buying as many green products as before the recession, while 19 percent are buying more.

Excerpted from Restaurant Business, September 2009