Green trends in Russia

Ecologically friendly trends have become common for consumers of different countries; and although there is no business motivation initiated by government, Russian food retail business is beginning to move this way. Top managers of some Russian retail brand have been enthusiastically implementing new ideas of sustainability, considering that being “green” improves the company’s image and serves as an extra driver for the consumers.

For example, Magnit retailer installed special equipment in-store for collecting used packing. Auchan Russia hypermarkets encourage customers to weigh fruit in special reusable bags. Many retailers display non-packed fruit and vegetables in special areas for better visibility.

Besides, there are small retailers offering goods grown by local farmers; their production is being examined and confirmed by ecologic inspection. Some of them combine different formats. Such is the case of LavkaLavka, an online store with its own café and shop. The policy of this company is to sell exceptionally seasonable chemical free products grown by small farmers and controlled by clients which means if the client is not satisfied with the product quality, the shop reimburse him the cost of that product.

The analytics predict the growth of the demand for “green” products. Yet, there is a suspicion that some Russian retailers and producers follow this trend merely as the marketing policy, selling conventional goods as sustainable.