Vending machines have historically offered limited product information for customers, with purchase choices based on what can be seen behind the glass.

Now, however, technology such as interactive touchscreens and linked smartphone apps are providing new ways to communicate with consumers. For operators, this means opportunities to share more detailed sustainability and sourcing information, as well as targeted advertising centred around environmental benefits. Operators can now showcase the ‘green’ credentials of their SKUs – from ingredients lists to agricultural processes to information on packaging recycling – at every stage of the purchasing journey, driving sales and repeat visits from sustainability-conscious consumers.

Consumers today are hyper-aware of greenwashing and are on the look-out for deliberately opaque supply chains. This makes the additional information that operators can share even more crucial: in order to meet consumers’ discerning expectations around sustainability, brands need to be actively proving their credentials.

According to a 2025 consumer survey by Euromonitor, “discerning consumers seek products that embody sustainable design and deliver exceptional quality and performance. They appreciate brands that simplify sustainable living without making it prohibitively expensive.”

That said, data from the survey also suggests that while sustainability is crucial, it is not enough on its own to drive consumer purchasing decisions. Euromonitor advises brands to “measure what matters and say it plainly,” designing for quality and performance first, and then using simple labels to communicate clear environmental savings with verified sourcing information, with the aim of making greener choices easy and good value for customers.According to a 2025 consumer survey by Euromonitor, “discerning consumers seek products that embody sustainable design and deliver exceptional quality and performance. They appreciate brands that simplify sustainable living without making it prohibitively expensive.”

That said, data from the survey also suggests that while sustainability is crucial, it is not enough on its own to drive consumer purchasing decisions. Euromonitor advises brands to “measure what matters and say it plainly,” designing for quality and performance first, and then using simple labels to communicate clear environmental savings with verified sourcing information, with the aim of making greener choices easy and good value for customers.

Consumer profiles

Understanding consumer attitudes towards sustainability empowers vending and automated retail operators to select impactful, sustainably-designed SKUs that will be favoured by eco-conscious consumers. Euromonitor’s ‘Voice of the Consumer’ 2025 survey identified five sustainable consumer profiles, along with practical ways to connect and succeed with each group.

For effective sustainability communication, Euromonitor’s report recommends considering market-specific characteristics. “Emerging markets are enthusiastic about sustainable products, while developed markets drive spending on them,” claims the report. “It is essential to understand the unique characteristics of each market, including awareness, scepticism and trust levels, and strike a balance between generic and specific sustainability claims that resonate with each audience.”

1. Naturalists

Across global markets, many consumers are scanning ingredient lists, looking for simplicity and transparency. For naturalists – about 30% of global consumers – ‘natural’ is more than a label; it is a lifestyle. These consumers are cutting back on meat, seeking plant-based options and trusting claims like ‘environmentally friendly’ – but only when brands back them up with specifics.

2. Zero wasters

Many consumers, especially younger generations, expect brands to help them repair, reuse or recycle. Zero wasters – about 25% of consumers – span generations, but all share a drive to minimise waste, whether that means recyclable packaging recycling or food-waste reduction.

3. Green spenders

Green spenders are willing to pay more for products that deliver on quality, performance and purpose – but they want to see certifications, fair labour practices and evidence of impact. About 25% of consumers fit this profile, and they are driving demand for products that ‘walk the talk’.

4. Low-impact livers

Many consumers are comparing products not just for a green logo, but for how much energy, water or money they will save. Over 20% of consumers are ‘low-impact livers,’ motivated by efficiency and cost savings. They’re practical, proactive and increasingly sceptical of vague ‘carbon neutral’ claims.

5. Nature restorers

Picture a discerning shopper scanning for products that promise to restore nature, not just do less harm. Nature restorers, about 10% of consumers, are highly educated and affluent. They scrutinise biodiversity, water and regenerative claims, and expect companies to provide real evidence.

Sustainable sourcing

Refreshment editor Bryony Andrews talks to Juliana Jaramillo, regenerative agriculture lead at the Rainforest Alliance, about what the organisation’s new Regenerative Agriculture Standard will mean for sustainable sourcing moving forward.

How does the Rainforest Alliance define ‘regenerative agriculture’ and what core principles guide your certification standards?

Regenerative agriculture aims to give back more than it takes over time – restoring soil, rebuilding biodiversity and strengthening ecosystems while supporting farming communities.

Our new Rainforest Alliance Regenerative Agriculture Standard captures that vision by laying out a science-driven framework with core principles linked to soil health and fertility, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and social wellbeing. The standard sets out clear, measurable requirements and indicators across these areas, and a practical, actionable path toward regenerative farming in harmony with nature.

How does regenerative agriculture contribute to climate adaptation and mitigation?

Regenerative agriculture contributes to climate adaptation and mitigation primarily by restoring biodiversity and ecological functions at farm and landscape level. Practices such as diversified agroforestry systems, increased tree and native vegetation cover and habitat conservation enhance above-ground carbon storage in perennial biomass, while also delivering critical ecosystem services. Greater plant and tree diversity improves microclimate regulation, stabilises water cycles through improved infiltration and evapotranspiration, reduces erosion and strengthens natural pest regulation.

These ecological processes make farming systems more resilient to climate stresses such as drought, heat, intense rainfall and pest outbreaks. While improved soil management can support soil health and modest carbon gains, the strongest and most reliable climate benefits of regenerative systems come from increased biodiversity, woody biomass and functioning ecosystems that enhance resilience, reduce emissions intensity and stabilise production under changing climate conditions.

What regenerative agriculture practices do you consider most effective for improving soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience on farms?

Some of the most powerful practices include agroforestry, reduced synthetic fertiliser use, cover cropping or soil cover management, maintaining ground cover and organic matter, reducing or eliminating pesticide use and integrating habitat zones or buffer strips for wildlife. These work together: cover crops and organic ground cover feed soil microbes and rebuild structure; agroforestry and habitat strips support biodiversity; and minimal soil disturbance preserves soil carbon and reduces erosion. Over time, these practices boost soil fertility, support a richer ecosystem on the farm and build resilience against pests, drought and erosion.

What are the biggest barriers that producers face when transitioning from conventional, or even sustainable, practices to regenerative ones?

First, many farmers lack technical support to implement regenerative practices effectively.

Second, shifting to regenerative practices often requires upfront investment and changes in farm design, such as cover-cropping, agroforestry, crop diversification or habitat restoration and these investments may carry short-term risk before benefits are fully realised. Third, there is supply chain and market uncertainty: if buyers aren’t yet committing to premiums or long-term sourcing relationships, farmers may hesitate to make the transition. Finally, there has historically been a lack of a widely recognised, credible standard – without which regenerative claims can feel vague or purely aspirational.

This is exactly where our Regenerative Agriculture Standard is designed to help. By creating a shared set of requirements that companies recognise and invest in, the standard helps reduce market uncertainty, unlock technical support and financing and ensure that farmers who take on the effort and risk of transitioning to regenerative practices are properly rewarded for doing so.

What are the challenges of measuring the impact of regenerative agriculture?

One significant challenge is that regenerative outcomes take time – improvements in soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience require longterm monitoring. Measurement is also complex because farms vary widely in soil type, climate, crops and local conditions, so what works in one place may not work the same way elsewhere.

Another practical challenge is data collection itself. When gathering data falls to farmers, it can be time-consuming and competes with the time they would otherwise invest in crop productivity and day-to-day farm management.

That’s why the Regenerative Agriculture Standard combines common, measurable indicators – such as soil cover, pesticide use, pruning and biodiversity – with a crop-by-crop, context-specific approach. This enables consistent tracking of progress and supports data-driven farm-level decision-making, while minimising administrative burden and still reflecting local realities through auditing processes and ongoing data collection.

How well understood is the concept of regenerative agriculture among consumers?

How are you working to improve this? Today, awareness of regenerative agriculture among consumers remains uneven, but interest is growing as more people look to support products that have a positive impact on the environment and farming communities. To improve understanding, we’re working with brands and retailers that adopt our Regenerative Agriculture Standard to communicate clearly what regeneration means – not just ‘less harm,’ but ‘positive impact’: healthier soils, thriving ecosystems, resilient farms and fair livelihoods. By providing clear definitions, transparent messaging, traceable certification and third-party assurance, the standard also helps avoid vague or misleading regenerative claims, making regenerative agriculture more accessible and meaningful to everyday consumers.

Can you share some details of your new Regenerative Agriculture Standard?

The Regenerative Agriculture Standard was formally published in September 2025 and audits under the new standard will begin on 1 March 2026. Early-adopter audits have been underway since July 2025 using a pre-publication version. The requirements cover not only environmental dimensions – soil health, biodiversity, water, crop resilience – but also the same base social protections as our existing Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard, to ensure that farms support people as well as the land. The standard is science-backed, with measurable indicators to track progress over time (eg. soil cover, pesticide monitoring, pruning, biodiversity metrics), and requires continuous improvement at each certification cycle. That makes the standard a practical tool: it guides farm planning and redesign, helps with supply-chain engagement and creates a shared framework for measuring regenerative performance globally.

How will the new Regenerative Agriculture Standard help coffee brands stand out in a highly competitive market?

The Regenerative Agriculture Standard gives brands a credible, science-based way to demonstrate that their products are not just ‘sustainably produced,’ but actively contributing to soil regeneration, biodiversity, climate resilience and fair livelihoods. In a crowded and competitive market, this can help differentiate coffee brands based on their environmental and social credentials. For consumers increasingly concerned about climate change, biodiversity loss and the ethical sourcing, having a clear regenerative seal helps build trust and transparency, aligning their purchase with a positive impact. For brands, it supports broader climate, nature and biodiversity commitments, while communicating tangible progress rather than vague ambitions.

The Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance, an international nonprofit organisation, works to r

estore the balance between people and nature for both to thrive in harmony. Active in 62 countries, millions of consumers around the world can find the Rainforest Alliance seal on more than 40,000 of their favorite products. The Alliance brings together farm and forest communities, companies, governments, civil society and millions of individuals to drive positive change in some of the world’s critically important landscapes and global supply chains. Implementing landscape and community projects, the Rainforest Alliance engages in advocacy, working to improve markets by putting farm and forest communities at the centre of operation. In 2024, the Rainforest Alliance partnered with nearly eight million farmers and workers and over 7,850 companies.