Green is the New Buzzword: How F&B Brands Are Selling Sustainability (Without Sounding Like a Lecture)

Once upon a time—OK, like five years ago—sustainability in India’s F&B scene was a bit like the elaichi in your biryani. Decorative. Optional. Ignored. But fast forward to 2025, and F&B scene is THE main course. From burger joints to boutique cafés, everyone’s riding the green wave like it’s a new reel trend that your next-door influencer can’t keep mum about.

This isn’t just marketing garnish anymore. It’s a strategy—bold, smart and often, surprisingly good.

India’s beverage market alone is frothing at ₹1.4 trillion and is set to bubble up with an 11.9% CAGR till 2029. Translation? If you’re not thinking green, you’re missing the menu entirely.

But hold up—is this real change, or just another trend dressed up in recycled cardboard? Let’s peel back the eco-label and dig in.

India’s Appetite for Eco: What’s on the Green Menu?

Picture this: Gen Z is ditching plastic forks with their pasta, meat alternatives are up by 41%, and suddenly everyone’s allergic to single-use anything. And yet, we still dump over 3.5 million tonnes of plastic every year. A lot of it from those oh-so-innocent snack packs and soft drink bottles.

It’s like ordering salad and washing it down with soda.

Now here’s the kicker—virgin PET bottles emit around 2.15 kg of CO₂ per kg. Recycled PET (rPET)? Slashes that by nearly 80%. The math is easy. The execution? Not so much.

Consumers today come with built-in greenwashing radar. If your sustainability pitch smells fishy (or suspiciously like a marketing pitch of a bad Bollywood movie), they’ll swipe away faster than from a Tinder profile that says “gym is my bae”.

Meet the New Indian Consumer: Fit, Fresh & Ferociously Informed

Here’s the tea—today’s consumer isn’t going green out of guilt. They want value, they want taste and yes, they want sustainability—but only if it’s wrapped in good design, solid flavour and no compromise.

Slurrp Farm nails this. Their millet pancakes? Tasty, healthy and eco-friendly, thanks to indigenous grains that use less water. Parents love them, kids eat them and the planet doesn’t cry.

This isn’t about do-gooder vibes anymore. This is about being cool, conscious and credible. The modern consumers Google your carbon footprint before they taste your food. They want to know if your almond milk is water-efficient, if your packaging biodegrades before the next climate summit and if your kombucha bottle doesn’t haunt landfills until the year 2135.

In short, they’re not just buying your product. They’re buying alignment with their values, aesthetics and Instagram stories. You better come correct.

Swiggy: When the Delivery Guy Turns Eco-Warrior

Swiggy’s 2030 roadmap reads like a sustainability startup’s vision board. EV delivery fleet? Already buzzing. Responsible packaging? In progress. AI-powered food waste reduction? Oh, it’s live, baby.

But their real mic-drop moment? Hyperlocal sourcing. 100% indigenous ingredients by 2025. Fewer food miles, more farmer smiles.

Bonus round: Swiggy Skills is upskilling over a million people in their ecosystem. It’s ESG meets IRL, and honestly, it’s genius.

Zomato: Using UI to Save the Planet

Zomato’s “no cutlery by default” button might just be the most powerful UI move in the Indian F&B landscape. It’s quiet. It’s subtle. And it’s saving trees without saying a word.

With over 5,000 EVs in the fleet, a full delivery footprint offset and plastic recycling initiatives in place, Zomato’s turning sustainability into a tap-and-go experience. CSR who? This is UI-led impact!

Wakao Foods: Jackfruit But Make It Hot

Wakao Foods took the OG jackfruit, gave it a glow-up and sent it to five-star brunches. This isn’t your grandma’s curry anymore—it’s burger patties, keema, sausages and everything in between.

The twist? It’s not grown in labs. It’s handpicked in Goa, ethically sourced and minimally processed. And the packaging doesn’t scream “eco-warrior.” It just is. Jackfruit with a conscience. Who knew?

Even tofu is feeling insecure now!

Paper Boat: Nostalgia That’s High-Impact

Paper Boat doesn’t just bottle drinks; it bottles childhood. From aam panna to jaljeera, its regional beverage range celebrates Indian traditions. One sip and you’re mentally back in your nani’s courtyard, dodging homework and drinking from a steel glass.

But here’s what makes it future-ready: the packaging. Their stylised pouches aren’t just pretty; they’re made from renewable resources and designed to be fully recyclable. Even your guilt gets recycled.

Combine that with local sourcing of fruit and flavours and you get cultural sustainability that doesn’t just sip from the past, it preserves it.

By championing rural economies and low-impact production, Paper Boat proves that going green doesn’t mean abandoning tradition. It means reimagining it—with better packaging and smarter sourcing (and zero chance of the pouch leaking in your schoolbag this time).

Amul: Milking Sustainability From Biogas

The 77-year-old cooperative may be better known for butter, but Amul’s green turn is no soft spread. With biogas plants powering some of its production units and methane being repurposed from dairy waste, this legacy brand is leaning into circular systems like a champ. Who knew cow poop could power climate action?

Add to that their move toward solar panels, recyclable tetra packs and digital milk-tracking for transparency, and Amul becomes a case study in how old is always gold. Sustainability isn’t a PR campaign for them; it’s embedded in operations. Or as the Amul girl might say, “Utterly green, utterly delicious.

Policy Potluck: Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen?

India’s F&B policy scene is…how do we put this nicely…chaotic. It’s like a potluck where everyone brought dal and forgot the rice.

Multiple ministries handle bits and pieces—FSSAI, CPCB, MoEFCC, MSME—but no one’s really hosting the dinner. And while the push to ditch single-use plastic is great, there’s no clear path for scale-friendly, food-safe alternatives.

So brands are stuck DIY-ing their way through red tape while trying not to piss off consumers or regulators.

The upside? Smart F&B brands are pulling up a seat at the policy table. They’re collaborating with councils, think tanks and startups to co-create solutions. Slowly but surely, the potluck’s becoming a progressive dinner party.

How to Go Green Without Going Broke: The Real Playbook

1. Make Sustainability Invisible
Don’t guilt-trip. Just design smart. Zomato didn’t preach. They just hid the spoon.

2. Let Tech Do the Cooking
Swiggy’s using AI to reduce food waste. You can too—think predictive menus, smart inventory, digital receipts. Sustainable and cost-effective? Chef’s kiss.

3. Think Circular, Act Local
Your waste isn’t trash, it’s potential. Just ask Amul. Source locally, recycle creatively and turn your backend ops into branding gold.

4. Don’t Performative Preach, Just Perform
No one wants a moral lecture with their dosa. Make sustainability a business strategy, not a sermon. Be real or be irrelevant.

Final Course: The Future Looks Deliciously Green

Sustainability in F&B isn’t a niche anymore—it’s the main dish. And the brands that are winning? They’re the ones that show, not tell. That make green feel cool, not compulsory.

The question isn’t “Should we be sustainable?” anymore. It’s “How creatively, honestly and impactfully can we do it?”

Because in 2025, the best flex isn’t fancy ingredients or fusion menus. It’s running a kickass business that feeds people and the planet. Now that’s food for thought!