Green Options » downturn

5 Ways Green and Organic Brands Can Survive When Consumers Switch to Private Label

mcmilker — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:58:03 +0000

If you’ve been following the news, and I’m sure you have, you’ve seen or read an article similar to this one which appeared Media Post, Blue Skies Ahead For Private Label.

Private-label packaged goods could surge as much as six times the roughly one-point market-share gain already seen since the recession began in December 2007, Jack Neff reports, bolstered by a slowdown in consumer spending that could last from four to 10 years.

This sounds scary, if you’ve been building your brand based on a green selling proposition. Then you come across something like piece, this from Ad Age, Private Label Winning the Battle of the Brands, and you wonder how you will survive.

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Exploring San Francisco Green Business Conference 2008

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 17:49:02 +0000

As we walked into the San Francisco Green Business Conference 2008, our expectations rose just a tad when we spied not only the recycling, landfill and compost bins (with Biobags) but also fair trade coffee and organic tea which may seem insignificant but first impressions mean a lot. As is the case with many Green festivals, summits, etc in the Bay Area that a significant percentage of attendees hailed from the local region however it we enjoyed seeing representation and discussion from people in “red” states.

With the economy on just about everyone’s mind, the green business conference made for timely discussion. A panel of Jay Harris, publisher of the still independent Mother Jones, Adrienne Brown (Executive Director, The Ruckus Society) and Paul Ray of Integral Partnerships, discussed the how the recent election will effect the green marketplace which included intriguing topics about “affordable green.” A lot of people (us included) think that with people watching their dollars even more closely that the green economy suffer a downturn. That’s exactly why we need to spend more to dig us out of the hole. However, the green economy isn’t a silver bullet. If it was then businesses such as Whole Foods wouldn’t be experiencing a downturn in profits.

We enjoy numbers and video clips as much as most human beings (maybe even more) so one of the later discussion led by Mitch Baranowski (BBMG) and David Lubensky of Bagatto raised our awareness. These markets awareness gurus discussed, among other things, how “green” is the new “new and improved” and that with all of the green product and service claims, the public wants to see specifics rather than the general generic green claims that appear to have become more prevalent. One particular video clip struck a chord with us clip of a woman in a Midwest supermarket reading an ingredient label. This “box-turner” picked up a product, scanned the label and uttered, “An inch of ingredients, how bad could that be?” For us and many of the green business attendees, that inch spoke volumes.

Consumer Confidence at 2004 Levels – Does This Mean Green Grocery is Dead?

mcmilker — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:10:09 +0000

Not necessarily. Though consumer confidence is down, recessions are historically the time when emerging trends gain momentum – green is a fast growing trend.

But, if your business depends on retail distribution, now is the time to familiarize yourself with how the grocery channel operates in down markets…which you may not have been a part of until this time.

The effect at retail has more nuance than an upturn in staples sales, as people eat out less and turn to food stores more for their next meal components. Rattled consumers expressed their lowest confidence levels since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, and the lowest expectation levels since the oil embargo and Watergate of 1973, according to the Conference Board.

This means a focus on the consumer benefit for organic foods…not the term “organic” but the health benefit provided. Consumers may be more willing to spend the extra dollars to buy organic if they have the health benefit spelled out in front them at point of purchase.

Or perhaps, no certainly, this is the time to teach consumers how to stretch their menus. During tight times, providing recipes with which consumers may not be familiar is a great strategy. Coupons and selling a value message is paramount.

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The Simplicity Movement – How Green Business Benefits

mcmilker — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:59:09 +0000

It’s back to basics for many consumers. Goodbye excess; batten down the hatches.

While it’s certainly not news that high prices and economic fears are causing consumers to cut back, a new study from Cramer-Krasselt finds that behaviors are shifting in ways few marketers may have expected.

As expected, in this downturn, consumers are pulling back and shopping less. They’re trading down, visiting Wal-Mart rather than Nordstrom’s. They’re substituting lower priced for higher priced items. But, in case you feared the economic situation would derail the green movement, think again.

… the current downturn has consumers building on trends that were already gathering momentum. Take the simplicity movement. While marketers such as Circuit City, Best Buy and Phillips have been tapping into consumers’ desire to streamline their possessions for several years now, the sagging economy is now providing an incentive to go one step further, with more people selling things on such sites as Craigslist and eBay. Ditto the move toward “locavorism,” once favored by environmentalists, and now embraced by anyone who may be looking to save on gas.
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Green Consumers Pull Back – Now What? Recession Strategies For Eco Businesses

mcmilker — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 14:04:47 +0000

I’ve been carefully watching sales of green products during this current downturn; analyzing the double-whammy impact of inflation and unemployment. While, as I wrote in Worried About The High Cost Of Green Products? Inflation Will Help, the price differential between organic and natural products and their traditional counterparts, may narrow, falling consumer incomes may make that a moot point as consumers trade down.

“Frugality is now replacing frivolity,” wrote David Rosenberg, chief North American economist for Merrill Lynch, who suggests that the consumption patterns of the 1950s could be coming back. “Ozzie and Harriett” is in; “Sex in the City” is out.

Except for deep green consumers.

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Recession Proof Your Green Business

mcmilker — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:39:06 +0000

There’s been a lot of talk recently, as the country slides into recession, about the impact this will have on innovation.

Will companies pull back from risky projects? Or will they re-jigger their efforts to support products that thrive in a recession…new or not.

Suddenly, innovation has a bull’s-eye on its back. As the recession debate shifts from “what if” to “how long,” claims a recent article in Business Week on the world’s most innovative companies.

Green entrepreneurs have no choice. Innovation is why they are in business. But, what strategies make the most sense for eco-friendly businesses facing a not-so-friendly economy?

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