From The Fall 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Better health motivates mass-market shoppers to try organic products

Tyler Wilcox

As we all know, trying new things can be difficult. Taking the plunge into the world of natural and organic products is no exception. But once customers are exposed to this world, they often never go back.

What is it that motivates these customers to take that initial trip to the naturals section of your store? And how can you best encourage this trip?

Our recent consumer research gave us a few clues. Plain and simple, the desire to be healthier is the primary factor pushing shoppers into giving naturals a shot.

“I wanted an alternative to the junk they sell in stores,” says Nancy Person of Orange Park, Fla. “The quality of the food in supermarkets is so bad. It has no real nutritional value, too much sugar, bad fat and no fiber.”

Holly Vergho of Lake Forest, Calif., switched to organics early this year. “I started buying them after reading The Maker’s Diet by Jordan Rubin. The explanations in that book as to why we should eat organic foods are compelling.”

Vergho buys organic produce, snacks for her child, milk and bread, driving more than 10 miles to the nearest natural grocers: Whole Foods, Henry’s Farmers Market and Mother’s Market. “Our local supermarkets rarely carry organic foods, and are more expensive,” she notes.

Survey respondents say that they became aware of the harmful effects of conventional products through a variety of sources, including doctors, friends, books and magazines. However, consumers told us that direct communications (direct mail, e-mail and store newsletters) catch their eye more readily than broadcast advertising and other mass communications. People are paying attention to their health more than ever, and meeting their needs can increase your naturals sales.

“I only started [buying organic food] a few months ago after reading a book on all the pesticides and hormones that are in our foods,” says Jennifer McVey, Richmond, Va. “No wonder our bodies are out of sync. … I feel healthier and my body feels more in balance now that I have cut a lot of that stuff out of my diet.”

Specific diet concerns, including allergies and medical conditions, were also cited. “My mom had certain health problems her whole life that made it so she could only eat organic, all natural, whole foods,” says Alixine Sas of Tacoma, Wash. “She made me eat what she ate, because she was afraid I would come down with the same medical problems she has. After a while, I got used to eating that way and I prefer it.”

Many say that concern for their children’s health moved them toward the naturals section. “I started buying [natural products] because [my] children were at an age when the health products were better for them,” says Mary Pickett of Phoenix. “I wanted them to learn at an early age that eating was important and so was weight control.”

Allergies and food intolerance among children leads some shoppers down the naturals road. “I have a 3-year-old daughter who doesn’t tolerate certain additives in food,” says Denise Moore of Ashland, Mass. “I’ve needed to search a bit more for things that she can eat and drink safely without a negative reaction.”

For many consumers, buying healthier products for their children leads to buying healthier products for themselves. So it’s clear that stocking your naturals section with products aimed specifically at infants and toddlers can result in an overall naturals sales boost. Pickett also noted that her children, having grown up on natural foods, have continued to eat naturals as adults

Most of the shoppers with whom we spoke buy their groceries at natural foods stores, even if their closest one is in a less convenient location than the nearest conventional supermarket. What they like about supermarkets is convenience; what they like about naturals stores is selection, quality and service. If these shoppers could get their natural and organic products in one place, they most certainly would.

“Buying natural is very expensive, worth it in the long run but a strain on the pocketbook,” says Jennifer Vincent of West Bloomfield, Mich. She used to shop at Kroger almost exclusively until a Whole Foods opened in her town three years ago. Now, she visits the Kroger store for just a few well-priced items, including Horizon milk, “Balance bars for my boyfriend and canned pumpkin for my cats.” Costco supplies her paper product needs and Whole Foods sells her the rest.

“I now shop at least 80 percent natural and organic,” she says. “Two months ago, I removed sugar and flour from my diet and would not have been able to do so in a healthful way without losing my sanity from food boredom without Whole Foods. The diet change has significantly limited my ability to shop at other stores.”

There’s a definite indication that if you offer more natural products and make the right consumers aware of them, those consumers will make the shift to your store.

Sidebars:
Sought-after naturals categories in supermarkets

Tyler Wilcox is a freelance writer in Boulder, Colo.