How Can Marketing Help in Ethical Terms - Essay Example

How Have These Issues and Changes Provided Opportunities for Marketers How Can Marketing Help in Ethical Terms In order to consider the opportunities available it is necessary to first consider the nature of the move towards an increase in organic food consumption. Organic foods are one of the fastest growing markets in the United Kingdom (Foundations of production and consumption of organic food in Norway: Common Attitudes among farmers and Consumers. O Storstad and H Bjorkhaug Agriculture and Human Values 30. pg 151). This demand comes at a time when the issues of environmental change and human and animal welfare concerns are being raised across the globe. Reports from America, such as that by Mintel (Organics to see "aggressive increase", says Mintel at Meatprocess.com), predict a continuation of the movement towards organic and similar products and this therefore suggests that there are opportunities to market organic foods positively to increase sales. With the rise of the ethical consumer, supermarkets have to close the gap between the educated and aware buyer, and the traditional image of the multinational retailer as grasping and amoral. Therefore they need to accentuate their positive roles in, for example the support of local farmers, whilst still maintaining their stance on value for money. They also need to attract others who may not consider buying organic foods in order to keep down costs and close the circle in the relationship between grower/ manufacturer, seller (supermarket) and the consumer. The question of ethical marketing and provision of organic foods is something that has troubled supermarkets in the past, and they do not seem to have learned from these mistakes (Supermarkets accused over organic foods The Guardian 5/11/06 and Soil Association Supermarket Survey Soil Association.org and Behind the Veggie Label rspca.org.uk) Investigations into their organic and other specialist foods seem to demonstrate that supermarkets have understood the packaging of ethical products, but missed the essential ingredients. In the future, supermarkets will have the opportunity to use the growing trend to produce better marketing strategies using the knowledge now available to them. With conflict between the two parties likely if these questions are not addressed, the supermarket's marketing strategies need to adapt and develop in order to bring the organic community into the marketplace. If, as seems likely, the demand for organic and ethical products continues to increase, supermarkets will have to provide themselves with a better image. Marketing could be the key to a better position in the eyes of natural activists. Organics Organics began as a small ethical movement, mainly concentrating upon local supply-and-demand, and around consumer worries about multinational business, agriculture, the environment and damage to traditional values. One of the features of this market was a focus on small, co-operative producers, and local availability. Though organic food markets have now become big business, for the activists ethical issues remain important, and still affect the purchasing choices that these consumers make. As well as these campaigners, who are known as 'true naturals' "highly committed, activist consumers" (The changing face of Organic Foods PCCnaturalmarkets.com pg. 3.)there is also a second growth market, who has been dubbed 'health seekers' by Michael Pollen (Ibid pg 3).These consumers: Buy organic foods for the perceived health benefits. They buy supplements, work out and drink wine, yet are still looking for foods they're familiar with. (Ibid) It could be argued that, aside from the issue of environmental awareness, the biggest cause of growth in the organic food market is the influx of these consumers, who, while looking for a healthier lifestyle, while still wanting the same quality and range of products. This kind of consumer had lead to the development of 'organic TV dinners' (ibid) and organic snack foods. While the true naturals are about 10% of the (US) food market, the health seekers potentially make up a much larger market. Supermarkets are attempting to cater for both of these markets, though it is not yet clear if this can be managed. Organics and Supermarkets The increased availability of organic foods in supermarkets has been seen as a victory by many activists, despite the fears of some that it equals the take over and corruption of the organics market by agribusiness. However, investigations into supermarket ethics by campaign groups, from the 2003 Soil Association survey (Soil Association supermarket survey), into supermarket stocking of in-season organic produce from the UK, to the 2006 RSPCA investigation into use of battery farm eggs in vegetarian produce, reveals that the supermarkets are out of step with the consumers of organic products. The 2003 Soil Association survey demonstrated that: Many in-season UK products were missing. In their place were unnecessary imports which could force UK organic farmers out of business. (Ibid) Among other issues were the importing of organic beef from Argentina, when there is plenty in the UK, and importing pork which does not meet the UK's organic standards. Even potatoes, which can be grown in Britain by the handful, were imported. The 2006 RSPCA report, which concerns the use of battery-farm eggs in the making of vegetarian meals, shows clearly that while supermarkets can market and package goods for specialist needs, their lack of awareness about consumer issues makes their product undesirable1. What is clearly demonstrated in these reports is the way in which supermarket's packaging (organic, vegetarian) is undermined by the use of unethical methods (importing2, pressurizing farmers to abandon ethical principles in order to cut costs, using unethical ingredients in foods labelled for the issue-aware consumer [Supermarkets accused over organic foods The Guardian]). Supermarkets have argued that local organic produce is not available (ibid), while growers complain that they are being pressurized into selling for little profit, abandoning their principles, and obliging them to sell their organic produce as conventional produce because there was 'no market for organic' (Assessment of marketing channels for conversion grade products The National Food Centre). . Farmers' groups have also complained that the retailers' practice of importing organic goods from overseas is forcing UK organic farmers out of business. Supermarkets and Ethical Consumers The issues raised here illustrate the differences between people who want to buy organic, and the supermarkets who are attempting to market organic goods. In the future, supermarkets will need to focus upon the question of why people choose to buy organic produce. Ethical issues such as animal welfare, preservation of the environment, support for local growers, and eating produce 'in season' are still the reason for many people to buy organic, but others may be more concerned with human health issues - pesticides and growth hormones, genetic modification, and the effects of pollution and globalised industry on human society. Some of these buyers may want a more radical organic agenda, while 'health seekers' will expect to be able to find all of their comfort goods (Ready meals, snack foods and 'processed' foods like white bread) within the organic range. These are clearly not very compatible aims. However, what all of these consumers will have in common is that they will expect their goods to be genuinely organic and ethical, and to cause less harm, both to the environment and local growers, than the agribusiness industry. Marketing strategy will have to deal with these issues, and attempt to overcome consumer suspicion of supermarket ethics. The need to satisfy the retailer, the grower and the end consumer of these goods is a complicated demand, and any marketing strategy must consider past successes in organic marketing as well as future methods. For this reason, the next section will consider a marketing strategy for an unusual organic product, then look at the organics industry's view of the options, before suggesting some ways in which marketing can maintain and expand the range of organic consumers. Marketing As we have seen, the organic food market began as a grassroots movement, and marketing strategy was mainly word of mouth, local campaigns, and awareness raising. Self-promotion served the organics movement for as long as there was only a low-level demand for goods. The activists sustained themselves, and since supply and demand was essentially small, this was a satisfactory arrangement (The Organic Farming Movement: Trailblazers, Heroes and Pioneers Organicanews.com) Presently, while there is some movement towards marketing organic foods by supermarkets, the impulse to buy and use organic produce is still dependant upon consumer groups and activists. Their investigations into supermarkets demonstrate that they still regard the organics markets as their province, and if marketers wish to develop the industry further, they will need to harness this and make it work for them. Niche marketing One example of how this harnessing of organic consumer groups has actually worked is in the marketing of Organic Pet food. A corporation called Grain Place Foods, Inc. developed and marketed a range of organic pet foods. GPF Inc networked for some years before producing an organic pellet for pet birds. This involved using vets and other experts, to the extent that they have had a 40% sales growth in recent years (An example of successful niche marketing: organic pet foods Confex.com) This example shows the benefit of grassroots connections: when working with ethical demands, understanding the issues in question means that not only can the marketer provide a better product for the customer, but also explore unfulfilled niches within that market. Another example of good marketing for health products is the classic 'Innocent' range of smoothies. This range emphasises their use of fruit and natural ingredients, recyclable packaging, and also their charitable works through humour and quirky statements (One of their bottles has the phrase 'stop looking at my bottom' on the bottom). This mix of friendly image and ethical stance has given the Innocent company more than 60% of the UK market for smoothies3 (Innocent Drinks Wikipedia) . Their marketing makes them seem to be warm and caring company, and this makes them more attractive to the consumer. Marketing and the Organic Consumer We have already seen that supermarkets and organic foods consumers do not always agree on ethical issues, and in fact many activists feel that supermarkets are riding a bandwagon or jumping on a Passing fad before some other marketing wheeze comes along. The Green Grocers The Sunday Times Clearly, the supermarket's organic marketing strategy here is seen as tainted by insincerity and shallowness, and consumers are left feeling 'taken advantage of', and some news reports have even mentioned that "The public were being conned" ( Supermarkets accused over organic foods The Guardian.co.uk) through supermarket's underhand practices. Marketing strategy needs to address that problem in the near future. While Innocent Drinks have shown that large companies can produce foods with an ethical element, and be accepted as genuine, the organic market distrusts the supermarkets, and any marketing strategy will need to address these issues: 1) Unethical practices in the providing of organic ranges 2) Lack of use of local produce 3) The perceived shallowness of big retailers 4) Mass market appeal vs grassroots tradition. The first of these, concerning the use of ethical methods of obtaining organic foods, is the most essential. Without addressing this problem, any marketing strategy will fail, since it does not answer the basic demands of the consumer. Hutchins and Greenhalgh argue that: Rather than promoting the "organic" label, perhaps the strategy should be focused on promoting the "environmentally friendly" aspect of organic produce. (Organic Confusion: Sustaining competitive Advantage. Hutchins and Greenhalgh. Nutrition and Food Science Nov. 1995 pg 13) This would take the pressure away from supermarkets by disassociating their products from the organic movement, although it would also complicate those consumers's relationship with the retailers, and may mean that the supermarkets loose their custom. It may also alienate the health-seeking consumer, since organic food is closely associated with health benefits and protection from illness, whether there is any evidence for this or not. The issue of ethical trust is possibly something that a marketing strategy cannot defeat overnight. However, the leading supermarket for commitment to suppliers and fair trade, Waitrose, also has greater traceability than other retailers (Supermarkets' organic pricing inconsistent. Freshinfo.com). More information on labelling could provide one way of increasing consumer trust in supermarket ethics. A big issue concerning the growth of the organics market is broadening the appeal of the produce, while retaining the interest of the traditional organics consumer. Marketing strategy could do a lot of good here, as it can encourage people to buy organic through special offers, educational leaflets and promotional campaign. A broader educational process, informing consumers about organic foods and where this food comes from, could prove beneficial. The future of supermarket marketing strategy certainly involves improving the reputation of big retailers in the organic market. Other considerations will concern greater openness about the sourcing of organic food, and encouraging the continued growth of the market through educational promotions. Other issues might be equalisation of pricing schemes across the industry, and campaigning for greater support for the local growers and suppliers. 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