Sustainability is one of the big trends of recent years. Even more, the topic has arrived in the consciousness of our society and is well on its way to becoming a real need: More and more consumers are declaring that they would give preference to sustainable products, at least if the price and quality are right. This opens up great opportunities for regional brands in particular.

Already today, more and more consumers are giving preference to regional brands, because their proximity to consumers means they pollute the environment much less than products that have to be transported thousands of miles. It is true that there are climate-friendly options for transport, e.g. by means of CO2 offsetting. But for consumers, regional proximity is easier to comprehend as an argument than more abstract sustainability programs or even certificates.

Here, regional suppliers have a decisive competitive advantage, and not only in terms of pricing. This is because they are often backed by family businesses that take their social responsibility particularly seriously, not least because it can be felt directly in their own living space. What’s more, the challenge of transporting goods around the globe in the most climate-friendly way possible doesn’t even arise. After all, people really want to live sustainably and not just fall for a marketing campaign that shows what’s trendy because it’s trendy. So it’s also about credibility, as Maximilian Lein, Marketing Manager of Haaner Felsenquelle, reports in the trade journal markenartikel (3/2021).

For a regional brand, it is … particularly important to also live … the brand promise in a credible way. As a regional mineral water company, we see ourselves as a responsible member of society in our home region, the Bergisches Land. This means … first and foremost, taking responsibility for the environment and the natural surroundings from which our mineral water springs…

– Maximilian Lein (source: markenartikel 3/2021), Marketing Haaner Felsenquelle, state-approved healing spring

What Maximilian Lein says can hardly be expressed better. Because it is important that companies do not just superficially follow the topic of sustainability. Over time, this will pay off. Because regionally active companies are, so to speak, inherently at a competitive advantage when it comes to sustainability. They just have to make that clear. The Haaner Felsenquelle relies on credibly lived regionality and therefore also integrates regional partners into its communication. True to the motto: From the region, for the region. Or in the form of products whose raw materials come from the region, as in the case of the direct juice apple spritzer, which is made exclusively from apples from meadow orchards in the Bergisches Land region. And finally, with a campaign that we were allowed to develop for this sympathetic client alongside a brand relaunch of Haaner Felsenquelle and Bergischer Waldquelle.

We are convinced: brands that act sustainably should also communicate this. Authentic, informative and entertaining in terms of advertising. Consumers who value sustainable products will thank you. And they’re growing in number.

To the Case: Haaner Felsenquelle

To the Haaner Felsenquelle website