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Green Marketing for Food and Beverage Products: A Look at the Iranian Market
This Foodex Iran study explores Iranian consumers’ attitudes toward environmental issues, green food and beverage products, and green marketing. Based on approximately 1,200 participants, the research reveals strong environmental concern and considerable interest in green products, while also identifying important gaps in consumer awareness, product availability, affordability, and trust in green claims.
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September 15, 2026
About this report
About the Report
Green Marketing for Food and Beverage Products: A Look at the Iranian Market is a Foodex Iran consumer study exploring the relationship between sustainability, consumer behavior, and marketing in Iran’s food and beverage sector.
Based on approximately 1,200 participants, the research examines environmental attitudes, consumer understanding and acceptance of green food and beverage products, and responses to green marketing and advertising.
Strong Environmental Concern, but a Behavioral Gap
The study shows a high level of environmental concern among respondents, with 80% reporting that environmental issues are highly important to them.
However, this concern does not translate directly into purchasing behavior. Only around one-third pay strong attention to environmental attributes when buying food and beverages, and 44% report having purchased a green product.
Demand Exists, but Friction Remains
After receiving a clear definition of green products, more than 70% of participants expressed a strong preference for purchasing them. Among consumers who had already bought green products, 77% continued purchasing them.
These findings suggest that the market challenge is not simply a lack of consumer interest. Awareness, availability, affordability and trust remain important barriers between intention and actual purchasing behavior.
Trust and Greenwashing
Trust emerges as one of the most important issues in the study. Around one-third of respondents express low or very low confidence that products marketed as green are genuinely environmentally friendly, while only around 20% show high trust in such claims.
For food and beverage brands, this means that environmental messaging must be supported by transparent, credible and verifiable evidence.
The Potential of Green Marketing
Despite the trust gap, green marketing has considerable potential. 92% of participants say that learning about a product’s green attributes through advertising would increase their interest in purchasing it.
More than half also report strong interest in brands that use green marketing, suggesting that sustainability can become part of a brand’s positioning and value proposition when environmental claims are credible.
Pricing and Communication
Approximately 30% of respondents show strong willingness to pay more for green food and beverage products. This indicates the existence of a potential green premium, although price sensitivity remains important for the broader market.
Digital channels account for slightly more than half of recalled green advertising exposure, while traditional media remain significant, highlighting the importance of an integrated communication strategy.
Who Can Use This Report?
The report is relevant to food and beverage executives, brand and marketing teams, product and packaging developers, sustainability and ESG professionals, retailers, consumer researchers and policymakers interested in the emerging green consumer market in Iran.
Data Note
The survey was conducted in May 2024 and relies on self-reported consumer attitudes and behavior. The findings should therefore be interpreted as a snapshot of the market during the study period and complemented with newer data when making current strategic decisions.
Key findings
- 80% of respondents place high or very high importance on environmental issues.
- Only 25% report familiarity with the concept of green marketing, while 75% are unfamiliar with it.
- After receiving a clear definition of green products, 70.2% expressed a high or very high preference for purchasing them, while only 33% currently pay strong attention to eco-friendliness when buying food and beverages.
- Only 44% have actually purchased green food and beverage products, but 77% of those with previous experience continued purchasing them.
- Among non-buyers, lack of information is the leading barrier at 54.1%, followed by limited availability at 33%.
- Among consumers who stopped purchasing green products, lack of availability accounts for 41.6%, while high prices and distrust of green claims each account for 29.1%.
- 55.4% show strong interest in brands that use green marketing, while approximately 75% are highly willing to recommend green food and beverage products to others.
- 92% say that advertising which informs them about a product’s green attributes would increase their purchase interest, yet only around 20.2% strongly trust that products marketed as green are genuinely environmentally friendly.
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