{"id":466,"date":"2026-02-26T18:45:01","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T09:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/agriture.jp\/?post_type=sustainable&p=466"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:03:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T09:03:42","slug":"genz-sustainable","status":"publish","type":"sustainable","link":"https:\/\/agriture.jp\/en\/sustainable\/genz-sustainable\/","title":{"rendered":"The foods Gen Z chooses. An era when environmental consideration becomes brand strength"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello everyone. This is Kojima of Agriture Inc. We work to turn underused resources \u2014 non-standard vegetables and harvest surplus \u2014 into newFood<\/a>raw materials through drying and powdering. Doing the work of giving vegetables new value day in and day out, I strongly feel the shifts in food values across generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was born in 1998, which makes me Gen Z. As one consumer, and as someone running a food maker, I experience firsthand \"what reasons this generation chooses products for.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Gen Z's purchase motivation shifts from \"price\" to \"empathy\"<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to the survey (Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living, 2024), about 50% of people in their teens and 20s answer that they \"buy products where part of the sales is donated to the environment or society.\" It's certainly true that for Gen Z, reasons like \"because it's eco-friendly\" or \"because it leads to social contribution\" \u2014 rather than \"because it's cheap\" or \"because it's convenient\" \u2014 are becoming purchase motivators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, in the same survey, a majority of teens answered that they \"feel tired of tackling social and environmental issues,\" showing signs of \"eco-fatigue\" as well. In other words, being sustainable isn't necessarily welcomed; \"how you communicate it\" and \"whether it can be incorporated into life without strain\" become the key points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:I strongly empathize as a member of the same generation myself. For example, even if something is labeled ethical or organic, if the price is extremely high or it's hard to use in daily life, in the end I don't reach for it. Being highly aware, Gen Z is sensitive to the gap between ideal and reality, and I feel many people sense that \"strain.\" That's exactly why \"true-to-life, sustainable practices you can keep up\" are important.<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I strongly empathize as a member of the same generation myself. For example, even if something is labeled ethical or organic, if the price is extremely high or it's hard to use in daily life, in the end I don't reach for it. Being highly aware, Gen Z is sensitive to the gap between ideal and reality, and I feel many people sense that \"strain.\" That's exactly why \"true-to-life, sustainable practices you can keep up\" are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u7537\u6027\u304c\u30b9\u30de\u30db\u3092\u898b\u3066\u3044\u308b\u5199\u771f\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why eco-fatigue arises<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Why does Gen Z, despite being \"highly interested\" in social and environmental issues, also come to feel \"fatigue\"?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First,a strong sense of obligation<\/strong>can be cited. Gen Z, who has many chances to encounter environmental issues through school education and social media, is prone to feeling pressure that \"I too must act.\" Seeing fragmentary information repeated on social media \u2014 \"using plastic bottles is bad,\" \"eating meat leads to environmental destruction\" \u2014 a sense of obligation may arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second,high prices<\/strong>. Ethical products and organic foods are often pricier than conventional ones, and the reality is that continuous purchase is hard for students and young working people. The conflict of \"I want to support it for the environment, but I can't buy it every time\" builds up and, as a result, leads to \"fatigue.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Third,the sense of burden on daily life<\/strong>can't be overlooked either. When cooking takes effort or the stores that carry it are limited, the hurdle to incorporating it into daily life rises. The feeling that \"even though I know it's a good thing, it's a hassle and doesn't last\" is a reality many young consumers share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When these factors overlap, Gen Z becomes prone to holding the contradiction of \"high awareness but action that doesn't last.\" And this very contradiction is the true nature of the psychological wear that the word eco-fatigue expresses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For companies and makers, this fact holds an important implication. Simply appealing \"choose it because it's good for the environment\" can backfire. Rather, \"experience design that makes it \"easy to keep up\" and \"glad I bought it\"\" is essential. In food OEM too, the question is how to present environmental value not by pushing it as \"the right thing\" but as \"an option that fits naturally into daily life.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Oatly\u306e\u516c\u5f0fHP\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Oatly case \u2014 brand design that transcends eco-fatigue<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Swedish oat-milk brand Oatly<\/strong> is a representative plant-based food winning strong support from Gen Z. Its feature is that, rather than stopping at the function of \"eco-friendly because it's a milk substitute,\" it incorporates ingenuity to dissolve, one by one, the elements that cause eco-fatigue (obligation, price, burden on daily life).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Turning obligation into \"fun\"<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Many sustainable brands call out \"choose it for the environment,\" but that can sometimes create a feeling of being made to, wearing out the young generation. Oatly went the exact opposite way. A representative example is the ad copy \"Like milk, but made for humans.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rendered into Japanese it seems ordinary at first glance, but in the English-speaking world it was received as a provocative message poking at the common assumption that \"milk = for humans.\" In other words, rather than mere fun, by putting\"a problem-raising toward the existing industry\" and \"a rebellious spirit\"<\/strong> front and center, it captured Gen Z's empathy. This shifted the purchase motivation from \"choosing it as an obligation\" to \"choosing it because you want to talk about it.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Creating a \"sense of conviction\" about price<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Plant-based beverages are generally more expensive than milk, but Oatly positioned itself not as a \"premium substitute\" but as an \"option that blends into daily life.\" By introducing it at major cafe chains like Starbucks, it made it permeate consumers as \"a cup you can choose as a matter of course,\" not a special product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, by printing the carbon footprint on the package, it gave the rational reason that \"even if it's a bit pricier, this choice reliably reduces the environmental burden.\" Gen Z is sensitive to price, but if there's information showing \"value > price,\" they accept it more easily. Oatly built that mechanism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. A simple use experience that reduces the burden on daily life<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Oatly offered not \"sustainability that requires special preparation\" but sustainability that's just \"a slight change to your usual choice.\" Because you can pour it straight into coffee or cereal just like milk, the cooking effort is zero. This cleared the daily-life-burden problem of \"even though I know it's a good thing, it's a hassle and doesn't last,\" realizing a form you can keep up in daily life without strain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Oatly case shows is the importance ofturning sustainability from \"the right action\" into \"natural self-expression\"<\/strong>. Loosening obligation with humor, making up for price with a sense of conviction, and dissolving daily-life burden with simplicity \u2014 each of these bits of ingenuity leads to a brand experience where, for Gen Z, they choose it \"because they empathize\" rather than \"reluctantly.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true strength of a sustainable product lies not in the environmental value itself but in \"whether you can keep it up without strain.\" Oatly showed that answer and can be called a representative example that gathered Gen Z's support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary | Toward sustainability that's chosen naturally<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Gen Z is a generation that has strong interest in environmental and social issues while also harboring \"eco-fatigue.\" Unless the walls of obligation, price, and daily-life burden are overcome, sustainable foods won't become a lasting option. As the Oatly case shows, what's needed isn't \"choosing it because it's right\" but a device that makes you \"want to choose it naturally, because you empathize.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That perspective connects directly to making foods that use vegetables as raw materials. Processing underused vegetables \u2014 non-standard or surplus \u2014 into dried or powdered forms that can be incorporated effortlessly aligns with Gen Z's \"true-to-life, sustainable practices you can keep up.\"<\/p>\n\n\n

Using dried vegetables,Novelties<\/a>please feel free to consult us about the planning and manufacturing of.<\/p>\n\n\n

What the food industry needs going forward isn't price competition but empathy competition. How can we design foods that \"can be proudly chosen precisely because they're eco-friendly\" while staying close to the lives of the people who eat them? Therein lies a hint for building the next generation's brand strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\u30ce\u30d9\u30eb\u30c6\u30a3\u306e\u958b\u767a\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n

Recommended reading<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sustainable initiatives<\/a> \/ Commercial dried vegetables<\/a> \/ Product lineup<\/a> \/ \"From Instagram to purchase\": branding worked backward from Gen Z consumption<\/a> \/ A Complete Guide to Using Moringa Powder: Effective Ways to Take It and Recipes<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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