How Fairtrade quantifies label value with YouGov’s Shopper Intelligence

Facts & figures

Global HQ: Bonn, Germany

Founded: 1997

Employees: 244

Annual revenue (global): €31 million

Business challenge

Fairtrade International is a non-profit organization founded in 1997, dedicated to promoting equitable trade through rigorous standards, certification, producer support, targeted programs, and advocacy. The Fairtrade label now appears on over 30,000 products worldwide.

To continue expanding its certified product range, Fairtrade must consistently demonstrate the incremental value of its label and the price premium that shoppers are willing to pay. Quantifying the label’s impact – particularly in key categories like coffee and chocolate, where sustainable trade plays a crucial role – is essential to keep convincing trade partners and driving further growth.

Solution & research results

To clearly quantify the added value of the Fairtrade label and justify its price premium, Fairtrade International leveraged YouGov Choices – a YouGov Shopper intelligence solution – using an innovative conjoint analysis approach. By presenting consumers with realistic decision-making tasks in front of a virtual shelf, the study identifies individual preferences and consumers’ willingness to pay. This methodology enables Fairtrade to simulate and understand the label’s impact on incremental volume and value, as well as price premium, within key product categories.

Focusing on the coffee and chocolate categories (where sustainable trade is vital) Fairtrade International highlights the value of its label. By evaluating trade-offs between attributes, the study quantified the influence of each product attribute on consumer choice. The results clearly demonstrate that the Fairtrade label acts as a distinct and powerful driver of purchasing decisions. Willingness to pay a price premium varies by product, with the strongest impact seen in categories where consumers have certain sustainability expectations.

Fairtrade was able to clearly demonstrate that its label drives incremental category value and volume thanks to YouGov Choices research, with these quantified results becoming the cornerstone of their trade narrative.

Business outcomes

These insights not only strengthened existing partner relationships but also unlocked new opportunities to broaden the certified product portfolio, expanding into categories where sustainability is key.

Grounding its trade story in real shopper data and advanced analysis, Fairtrade International continues to extend its presence and amplify its global impact on sustainable trade.