Greening Consumer Choice - December 8th, 2010
Attitudes and availability

The word is out. Green is good for the environment and healthy for you too. If that is true then why have green products not become the main choice of the majority of consumers?

Another question that arises is, just what do we mean by Green?

If our focus is on healthy foods with no artificial or synthetically manufactured preservatives, flavorings and colorings added to natural foods we have a choice of foods where only natural ingredients are used in the recipe. But this is not the only factor to consider.

There is also the matter of the way food is grown. Do we want foods grown in a way that avoids the use of chemically synthesized fertilizers and pesticides?

We have crop varieties created by years of selective breeding or even created in the “test tube” through genetic modification. Many of our food crops and domesticated animals have evolved from wild varieties over centuries of human cultivation. Then there is the issue of the carbon footprint through the entire supply chain from crop and animal to the food on our table.

We could consider energy efficiency and savings through new technology as we decide our mode of transport, the building and insulation of our homes, and the landscaping of our gardens as well as our urban environment.

To better understand the issues do we need to shift from a Newtonian material physics to an Einsteinian quantum physics to understand the value of the world around us in terms of energy utilization and carbon footprints? 

The confusion over Green labels on products and services will continue as we educate, debate and evaluate the alternative lifestyle choices available. In the end the perception of what constitutes quality of living may drive our consumer choice and define market demands that entrepreneurs and businesses may rush to fulfill.

The market and the evolution of trends and buying decisions will evolve over time until a tipping point comes about that changes the reality around us. The advent of the railways and Model T cars was such a tipping point that drove us firmly away from bullock carts and horses as modes of mass land based transportation.

An urban environment without cars and buses just may happen if a tipping point of urban mass rapid transit combined with innovations in urban planning occur.

Food allergies and the lure of healthy eating may be the tipping point that sees supermarkets and franchise food outlets stocked with healthy whole foods the norm that displaces today’s fast food chains and hyper-market offerings. What price will the consumer pay to avoid high medical cost with the opportunity to enjoy quality living?

Rebranding “Green” for commercial benefit requires entrepreneurs and businesses informing and defining labels.

Green Labels
Whichever business succeeds in becoming the benchmark for a particular green product and/or service may get to define the meaning of the Green label. While we may be able to roll off our tongue brand names of fast food burger chains, many of us will be slow to name a slow food chain or two. It appears that a blue ocean opportunity for healthy foods is still open for conquest.

Pricing Strategy
The general consumer perception seems to be that Green or ecologically safe products are just too expensive for daily use. Two messages are missing from the market place. The first is the cost savings in terms of health and the follow up repair.

In the food industry perhaps linking healthy with tasty and a satisfaction that does not give you a heartburn may encourage a love for your product.

In services, the fact that you can log on to get information on business opportunities or consulting advise through a website without the hassle of wasting time and burning fuel driving to a consultants office actually means lower cost.

Delivery 
Getting the messages out that Green is good for the consumer and is priced right for the budget has to be in tandem with prompt delivery to the consumer.

This requires placing products in the right outlets. A delivery network that makes availability at convenient locations a reality must support an awareness campaign encouraging consumers to buy. The marketing strategy should be planned in a manner that allows for market penetration through a distribution channel that can tap into traditional retail outlets.

All that may be needed now is just the right entrepreneur seizing the opportunity with a single product that may transform Green into the standard that a mass of consumers’ demand from all businesses in the market.

Shifting from drinking tea to mass consumption of coffee was a revolution in the United States of America that continues to spread across the world. Will the consumers of the world one-day soon shift to sipping green tea for quality living?

Celebrate the spirit of global enterprise that just may make Green the new gold standard for success.

Remember that health is wealth!


Siddha Param
International Business Consultant

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E-mail:siddhaparam@worldwidebusinessconnection.com

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