Say Hello to the Rise of Conscious Consumer Buying
Published on March 28, 2025, at 4:40 p.m.
by Reese Ham.
It seems that now more than ever consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about their overall health. Whether it’s going on daily walks, reading a self-help book or tracking macronutrients, people have honed in on what it means to be holistically healthy.
Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, our culture has a renewed interest in prioritizing health and wellness in a way we have not seen before. Choices surrounding food and how it affects our bodies, as well as our environment, have taken center stage.
The allure of tasty food is no longer the sole factor when it comes to purchasing a meal; buyers now look for a holistic product with health benefits that also showcase the product’s — or the company’s — endeavor toward wellness for people and the planet.
So how does this shift affect the way food and beverage companies present themselves to consumers? Food and beverage companies must take the focus off products themselves and instead tailor their branding around a specific lifestyle in which each product fits.
Let’s look at HelloFresh, a top meal kit delivery service. HelloFresh’s products are about bringing convenient and yummy food to your table. However, the HelloFresh Group has created a brand that is centered around how food fosters creativity, brings people together and fashions happiness into our lives through each meal we eat.
HelloFresh panders to a lifestyle where happiness, joy and love revolve around the meals we make and eat together — its meal kits just so happen to be the perfect tool to conveniently weave that into your life.
Through HelloFresh’s social media presence, the brand is able to communicate its fun, joyful and cheeky approach to life by tweaking popular memes to fit its brand image. As well as being light-hearted and humorous, HelloFresh uses an assortment of influencers from cooks to mothers to podcasters to highlight how its products fit into different lifestyles.
This conversion to wellness isn’t just about the food itself; it’s a push and challenge toward sustainability. Since consumers are becoming increasingly vigilant about how their purchasing habits affect the environment, a brand’s sustainability practices need to be at the forefront of its messaging.
HelloFresh does this incredibly well. The company has dedicated a whole tab to its sustainability efforts through its eco-friendly packaging, fight against climate change and dedication to eliminating food waste, ensuring customers that their purchases are not causing damage.
Changing attitudes toward sustainability, food choices and overall healthy living are a call to action for businesses and how they tell the stories of their brands. Successful food brand imaging doesn’t equate to profit anymore — success lies in an authenticity that ensures consumers you care.
