Selling Wholesale on Amazon: How to Attract More Young Consumers

Last updated on January 9th, 2023

Written by Mark Salvania

You've learned that selling wholesale on Amazon is one way of starting a profitable e-commerce business. Now, your next task is to find out how to appeal to young consumers. Why? Because Millennials and Gen Z love Amazon. According to the 2020 Roth Capital Partners' survey, 73% of 19 to 39-year-olds are Amazon Prime members, the ready-to-buy consumers in the world's largest online marketplace. 

Lucky for you because Amazon's newest program, called the Climate Pledge Friendly program, could make young consumers patronize your products. What is it, and how can you apply it to your Amazon wholesale business? 

What is the Climate Pledge Friendly program?

Based on the announcement at the Amazon Seller Forums on September 23, 2020,  Climate Pledge Friendly is "a new program to help make it easy for customers to discover and shop for more sustainable products." It is a product with one or more of the 19 different sustainability certifications, one of which is Amazon's Compact by Design.

The Compact by Design certification is granted to Amazon wholesale sellers who have a more efficient design. We will discuss this in detail later.

Moreover, the said program supports The Climate Pledge. What is The Climate Pledge? It is co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism, a commitment to fulfill the Paris Agreement ten years early and achieve net-zero carbon by 2040. 

Why do Millennials and Gen Z demand sustainable packaging?

When you join the program, you are not just inadvertently supporting The Climate Pledge. You are also listening to the Millennials and Gen Z consumers' needs, specifically, their need to buy products with sustainable packaging. A survey from EcoFocus Trends listed what young consumers say when they talk about sustainable packaging, as follows:

• A healthier planet means a healthier me.
• Healthier food & beverages are even healthier in sustainable packaging.
• Food and beverages should come in packaging that supports sustainable practices.
• Brand owners will build trust by acting more responsibly towards the environment.
• It is worth paying more for sustainable packaging.

By looking at the numbers from a study by First Insight, Inc., they revealed that 73% of Gen Z and 78% of Millennial respondents expect retailers and brands to become more sustainable. So, yup, it would do good for your business to lean towards sustainability if you want to target more younger customers on Amazon.

But how can you create sustainable packaging based on what the Climate Pledge Friendly program requires?

How can your Amazon wholesale business qualify?

As we've mentioned above, you need to have one of Amazon's third-party sustainability certifications or obtain their Compact by Design certification. After being certified, your listing will have the Climate Pledge Friendly badge and a link of what certificate(s) you have, as shown below.

Here is the complete list of the third-party certifications that Amazon has partnered with:

• Bluesign
• Reducing CO2
• Carbonfree Certified
• Cradle to Certified
• ECOLOGO
• ENERGY STAR 
• EPEAT
• Fairtrade International
• Forest Stewardship Council
• Global Organic Textile Standard
• Global Recycled Standard
• Green Seal
• Made in Green by Oeko-Tex
• Organic Content Standard 100
• Rainforest Alliance's seal
• Recycled Claim Standard 100
• Recycled Claim Standard Blended
• Responsible Wool Standard

Meanwhile, here are the tips to be Compact by Design certified:

• Use less packaging, which is not eye-catching.
• Reduce the air in the container to make it smaller.
• The container's shape must be the same volume as the product.
• Use lightweight packaging materials.
• Opt for concentrated products.
• Utilize waterless technology (i.e., bar of soap instead of liquid soap)

Overall, adopting the "less is more" mindset is the key to be Compact by Design certified. Besides, your product should be eligible in Amazon FBA and enrolled in the Amazon Brand Registry program.

7 Basic steps on how to start selling wholesale on Amazon

Here's a quick guide on how to be an Amazon wholesale seller:

1. Set up an Amazon Professional Selling account.

2. Search for a high-demand and sustainable product to sell.

3. Find reputable Amazon FBA wholesale suppliers for the product you've chosen.

4. Register in Amazon's Brand Registry and FBA.

5. Create a listing for your product.

6. Enroll your products in the Climate Pledge Friendly program.

7. After ensuring that your products have the Climate Pledge Friendly badge, you can now launch and promote it.

Conclusion

The largest online e-commerce company on Earth is always thinking of ways to attract customers from across all generations, especially the younger ones. Thus, you must keep in mind that selling wholesale on Amazon is an ever-evolving process, and your business must be adaptive to change. Hence, if you are interested in the Climate Pledge Friendly program, ensure that you find first-rate sustainable products with equally sustainable packaging. Fortunately, there are Amazon FBA wholesale suppliers willing to travel the road towards sustainability with you. Just make sure that you and the supplier are on the same page so that you will have no problems building a truly eco-friendly e-commerce business.

Selling wholesale on Amazon is more manageable when you partner with us! Seller Interactive has a team of experienced consultants willing to help you to build a full-fledged Amazon wholesale business. Please email us at [email protected] or [email protected], today.