Organic is defined as food produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives (Dimitri 2009). Pesticide exposure has been linked to many harmful effects in humans including, cancer, neurological problems, and developmental problems such as birth defects and fetal death. Over the years, consumers have become increasingly concerned with the long-term effect that ingesting pesticides and other synthetic chemicals has on human health, because the effects of ingesting pesticides are normally not discovered until many years have past. Concerns over the hazards of these synthetic inputs have caused many consumers to switch to organic foods. From 1997 to 2008 the sales of organic foods has risen in sales from $3.6 billion to $21.1 billion, and organic farmland acreage has more than doubled.
If organic farmers are going to successfully market these products, they need to understand what factors influence a consumer’s purchase decision. Research shows that one of the main factors that influence the likelihood of a consumer’s purchase of organic products is education (Dimitri 2009). Consumers who have been educated on the benefits of choosing organic produce are much more likely to buy organic. According to the USDA report, factors such as race, presence of children in the household, and income, do not have a consistent effect on the likelihood of buying organic products (Dimitri 2009). It is critical to understand that education is what drives purchase intentions in order to know how to successfully market these products. An inexperienced marketer would likely look at the sales data for organic produce, see that on average organic produce costs between 10 to 30 percent higher than traditional produce, then He or she would then conclude that only wealthy people with high disposable income are buying organic foods. However, this could not be farther from reality. A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that half of U.S. consumers who frequently buy organic food have household incomes below $50,000 (Dimitri 2009). Based on these data, we have decided the best way to increase sales of organic produce is to educate the consumer on the benefits of choosing organic. “Organic” needs to become a brand name, just like “Coca-Cola” or “Google”. Consumers need to associate “Organic” with living a healthy lifestyle and doing what is right for the environment and for future generations. “Organic” is about social responsibility and having concern for things beyond economic profits. Using the pull method of distribution, we will set up an advertisement that will appeal to the end consumer in hopes that this increased consumer demand will cause the farmers to increase production, and the retailers to increase their shelf space for organic products. In 1993, the California Milk Processors Board began running the famous “Got Milk?” ad, which resulted in a large increase in milk consumption. This is the kind of campaign that organic farmers need to run in order to raise awareness of the benefits of organic produce. The ad should be easily memorable, with a catchy tag line, that explains why organic is superior to the standard pesticide-saturated products.
Because of its higher price, organic foods will have to be positioned as a specialty good, however we want these products to be consumed by all people who are concerned about health. Typically, organic products have been targeted at what many consider, “Health Snobs”. A “Health Snob” rides his bike fifty miles to work every day, wears “vegan leather”, buys organic foods, and always talks about how he is saving the environment. This is not the type of person we want to target because “health snobs” often make people feel that intimidated because they do not own a suit made of hemp, or they do not constantly talk about global warming. We want to target the average American Joe, who feels strongly about doing something positive for the environment, but he is not willing to make dramatic changes to his everyday life. Using the “foot in the door” technique we want him to begin to think that by buying a few organic products he is doing something important for the environment. He will be attracted to the ability to “go green” without causing major disruptions in his daily life and will begin to see himself a green person. Once he has begun to see himself as a “green” person he will be much more likely to radically change his diet to include more purchases of organic foods.
