Retail Marketing of Organic Food Products - Essay Example

? Retail Marketers: Organic Food Products The world is evolving, consumers are evolving. From knowing just what they want to knowing where they can get what they want, the consumer today is well aware and educated about the good and harmful effects certain products can have on their health. The consumer has moved on from looking for a bargain. He knows that paying less now may very well lead to paying a lot more later, when one’s heath is compromised. He would rather stay healthy and fit than pay a few lesser bucks and pay for it in the long run. Another aspect is that the consumer is now more aware of what is harming the environment and what is protecting it. He knows that a lot of his activities is causing a depletion of the environmental resources and is harming the future generations. Man also now knows what kind of effect these activities are having on the other forms of wildlife in the world. Man is more compassionate now that he is aware of what his activities are doing to other living beings and is choosing to use natural products over polluting inorganic food items, even if he may have to pay more for it. Organic Food: The needs and wants of consumers Organic foods are becoming more popular by the day. Consumers are choosing to buy naturally grown food products that haven’t been contaminated and synthetically grown. “The term "organic" typically describes food that has been cultivated and/or processed without the use of chemicals of any sort including fertilizers, insecticides, artificial coloring or flavoring and additives”. (Frost 2011). People today say that they have forgotten the real taste of fruits and vegetables since they are just eating pesticide-infused foods that taste more like medicine than fruit. In the long run, this creates a health problem for all that consume it. Pesticides and insecticides cannot be good for anybody’s health. People are also slowly becoming health conscious and want to increase their lifespan. All these are just few reasons why people want to explore organic food as an option. The public’s view in most cases is in favor of this organic food. “The organic market…is driven by consumers who want to buy fresh… directly from the farmer. The leading supermarkets must take note of the public's wishes and increase the amount of locally-sourced organic food” (BBC 2004). Health is wealth Consumers today are very well aware of the truth in this statement. They know that there is no point in compromising your health in order to save a few bucks. It backfires and you invariably end up spending a lot more than you saved on doctor bills. Also, people are more health conscious today and would go for healthier food options like organic foods, it comes with a feasible or cheaper price tag. “60 % of the population would choose organic food if it was easily available and cost no more than conventional food.” (Williams 2002). They want to be fit so that they don’t have to depend on anybody in their old age. This is leading them towards using organic food products that is more healthy and safer than the synthetically grown food products. It has also been proved that organic foods have a higher content of necessary vitamins, minerals and help to boost one’s immune system as opposed to inorganic produce. This is an important factor to consider for the health conscious. Another segment that is gradually delving into organic foods is parents of younger children. In order to ensure their children are healthy and fit, and to avoid any kind of health problems, parents prefer buying organic food for their children. Go green The consumer is also very environment conscious today. He is aware of the harmful impact that pesticides are having on the soil, rivers and animals that live in them. Another factor is that organic farms do not cause pollution to the extent of non-organic ones. They are natural and so use lesser petroleum and other products that release fumes and make it difficult for all the living beings surrounding to survive in peace. This makes them choose to use organic foods that have been grown without harming any other living beings or the environment they live in. Going along the same lines, the various cons of industrialization also play a part in the decision making process. For instance, it is evident that along with destroying the environment, there are a lot many problems caused by “factory farming” such as exploitation of workers, impoverishing rural communities, inflicting cruelty on animals and contaminating water sources. Not only this, but after the entire process of factory farming, the final produce it also contaminated by sediments and deposits from various sources. Some contaminants include pesticides and insecticides, animal drugs or antibiotics, feces, chemical preservatives, etc. When consumed, all these can only be harmful to the human body and organic food items are a better option to choose. (mercola.com 2011) Organic Food: The Grocery Retail Marketers Considering the need that is prevalent for now for organic foods, the grocery retail marketers need to understand what the consumers need and to do something about it. DEFRA (2006) stipulates that “the use of the word organic accompanied by the correct code and/or certification information as shown below on the label or within the shop is your guarantee that it has been organically produced”. Consumers are very apprehensive about one thing about organic food and that is the price they are sold at. Organic food is more expensive than the factory farmed food for the simple reason that more care needs to be taken when producing these foods. It won’t do to let insects near the food because they cannot be sprayed with insecticides and pesticides. Also, the temperature and other factors cannot be controlled. Everything must be done naturally to ensure that the food is in fact organic. According to a research study conducted, there wasn’t a particular defined target for organic food that was based on race, educational qualification, age, geographical location or the income of the buyer. This proves that anyone and everyone is a potential target to purchase organic food. Keeping this in mind, there are various points that marketers must consider to ensure a smooth flow of the organic foods. First of all, not everyone is aware of the health and other benefits one can get from organic foods. Consumers therefore, need to be educated about organic foods in terms of how they are grown and how they are different from factory foods, their benefits and so on. This will help the consumers to discover the difference between organic and regular foods that extends beyond price of the product. Another thing that retailers need to keep in mind is that to expand the market for organic foods, constant communication is essential. This however is expensive and time consuming and may further reflect on the price of the product in terms that it might increase the overhead cost. Misconceptions about organic foods are also floating around. Consumers for instance figure that organic foods are just those that are safe. They don’t know all the efforts that are put in to growing them. This also makes the market for consumers for organic foods versus conventional foods very small. Something needs to be done about this. Supermarkets in the world are constantly developing. To ensure they have the widest consumer base, they concentrate on three main things – price, variety of products and keeping up with the global trends. Now, organic foods are on the higher price scale and supermarkets therefore do not prefer to exclusively deal with organic foods. Even though it would be keeping up with global trends, the fact of the matter is that organic foods are way more expensive than conventional foods and almost everyone has been living on conventional foods for years. They therefore might not see the point in spending so much for just the assurance that they are eating healthier. The process is a long one and people today need fast results. So, convincing them may be hard, especially when there is no hardcore proof. Another problem to consider is that organic foods haven’t yet penetrated the markets very much. Thus, they do not fly off the shelves. Now, wholesalers and retailers for that matter tend to discontinue slow-moving products for the simple reason that they do not make much profit out of it. Also, since these are foods, they are perishable products and so might just have to be thrown out. False claims of organic products also create issues with the public. There need to be proper regulatory bodies that can define and maintain a standard about organic foods. This will create some standard for consumers to know what they are purchasing and know what is right. Consumers will have the satisfaction that they are not being cheated. Competition exists in every market. For organic foods, conventional food plays a big role in terms of competition. The price factor is a big reason for this. There are also other factors such as lack of consumer awareness and that consumers are quite cynical and may not believe that the foods are organic. They may think that the foods are just being called organic and are being sold for a higher rate. All these factors play a major role in affecting the consumer. Another big problem in terms of organic foods is that the supply of organic foods is presently larger than the demand and is continuing to grow that way. This is a trend will not be very good in the long run as there will come a time when the supply is so high that all the food will rot and there will be nothing we can do about it. It is essential to immediately educate the consumer and make him switch to organic foods in order to save the market. Marketing of Organic Foods Organic foods are a very noble initiative. They need to be marketed with apt marketing strategies to increase the sales. “Marketing strategy is the broad marketing thinking that will enable an organisation to develop its products and marketing mixes in the right direction, consistent with overall corporate objectives” (Brassington and Pettitt 2007). For that, the following steps can be followed. Word of mouth: The first step is always to bank on testimonials from users. Once people start talking about it, it will be easier to convince others about the benefits of the product. This will also generate an initial buzz after which educating the consumer will be easier. (Braber 2003) Research and feedback: It is essential to take feedback and the opinions of people who are using organic foods to know what kind of difference it is making to their lives. That is, by cornering on the target segments, the retailers can ask for their feedback. “The advantage of target marketing is marketing effort can be focused on the market segment(s) that offer the greatest potential for the company to achieve its objectives.” (Lancaster & Reynolds, 2003). This will also help understand if the communication is working and if they will continue to purchase organic foods. Farm visits: Another good marketing idea for organic foods is to encourage farm visits to the organic farms. This can be done by tying up with schools, offices, clubs and so on to give them an opportunity to actually see how the foods are grown and taken care of so that they have more faith in the system and choose to eat only organic foods. Mass media: Mass media is another great way to reach out to consumers. By this, it is possible to reach out to a wider audience. Media such as television, radio, newspapers, magazines and so on are great to reach out to people of every category, simply because everyone has access to them. (Braber 2003) Creating an identity: Once, the organic food has an identity of its own, people will learn to have faith in the brand, and believe in it. Thus, brand creation or identity as well as the management of that brand is a key part of creating a successful product and that includes organic foods. Organizations' problems in its marketing could stem from its failure to produce marketing plans based on the brand image and identity of the product. (Simkin 2002). Therefore, organic food will become synonymous with health and fitness. All these will form a great marketing strategy for organic food. Marketers may also want to take the below-the-line route. This may reach out to a fewer people at a time but the intensity is higher and therefore response is better. (Jobber 2009). It includes promotions on a one-to-one basis, demonstrations, and so on. Suggestions and Conclusion: In order to promote organic foods and educate consumers at the same time, marketers could perhaps conduct an organic food fair. This could take place at an organic farm, where consumers would be taken on a tour of the place so that they learn all about the food and then they could get to sample some of it. This could go on for a month or so in order to reach out to a wider group of people. Organic food is a boon to humanity, in a case scenario when everything is polluted. It is free of artificial additives and pollutants, more nutritious, and has a great fresh taste. To ensure that we get this pollutant-free food and are able to thus live longer, it is essential to educate consumers and convince them to switch to organic foods. REFERENCE: BBC 2004, South West is 'organic central', accessed on December 18, 2011 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4013055.stm Braber, KD 2003, Local Marketing of Organic Products - A Guide for SMEs, accessed on December 18, 2011 http://www.ifoam.org/growing_organic/7_training/t_materials/3_economics_mark ets_trade/pdf/IFOAM_Workshop_LocalMarketingInitiatives.pdf Brassington, F and Pettitt, S 2007, Principles of Marketing, Prentice Hall, Harlow. DEFRA 2006, Farming - Organic: Consumer information, accessed on December 18, 2011 http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/organic/consumers/faq.htm. Frost, JB 2011, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee The Best Organic Food Stores, Farmers' Markets & Vegetarian Restaurants, Hunter Publishing, Inc. Jobber, D 2009, Foundations Of Marketing 2E, Tata McGraw-Hill Lancaster, G. and Reynolds, P 2003, Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. mercola.com 2011, More Expensive than Organic Food - But it Poisons You, accessed on December 18, 2011 http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/08/organic-monopoly- and-myth-of-natural-foods.aspx Simkin, L 2002, “Barriers impeding effective implementation of marketing plans – a training agenda”, The Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, vol. 17, no.1, pp. 8-22 Williams, CM 2002, Nutritional quality of organic food: shades of grey or shades of green? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 61, 19–24. Read More