Opinion: The Hunt For The Magic Produce Word
August 8, 2012 Like me, you may have been taught that the magic word is “Please.” A great word, no doubt about it, and one we could stand to hear a lot more in our increasingly uncivilized society. But the word I’m thinking about is magic in the sense that Aladdin’s lamp was magic. It has the potential to bring you untold riches.
What is it? I wish I knew. I can generally describe it. But first let me back up and start at the beginning. Some colleagues and I were visiting the exhibitor booth for a biotech company at the United Fresh conference this past spring in Dallas. I said I was surprised to learn that not all of the company’s products were organic. I guess I just assumed that as a biotech, that would be the case.
The company’s marketing representatives explained that they weren’t shooting for just organic growers, so it wasn’t necessary to manufacture strictly organic products. However, though they were using chemicals, these chemicals were decidedly soft, for lack of a better term. (Hey, this wordsmithing is a lot harder than it looks, trust me.) That’s because they were shooting for a consumer segment that wasn’t necessarily organic, but wanted fruits and vegetables that were healthy to consume and produced in an environmentally friendly manner.
Now, most of you would agree that’s what nearly all specialty crop growers already do. But as fewer and fewer people have a direct connection to agriculture — I have read where it is down to about 1% — most consumers just don’t know much about farming. You’ve heard the stories, about how many kids think that food comes from the grocery store, and when they hear milk comes from cows and apples grow on trees, they are shocked. The magic word would make that connection.
A Natural
But that’s not all. Ideally, the magic word would instantly connote what those marketing folks said they believe a growing number of consumers are looking for. The magic word would connote healthfulness, both the health of the consumer, their family and friends, and the earth at large. The word would convey a sense of natural.
You’re probably thinking we have a word like that already: organic. But the marketing folks said that’s not completely true, and I have to agree. While organic does meet several of these tests, it has a few drawbacks. One big one is cost. The magic word might connote a small premium, but not the 30% premium that’s used as a grocery industry average.
Another minus is food safety. Being that growers are human, and that fruits and vegetables are grown outdoors, perfectly safe food is not currently possible. Call me a doomsayer, but I think we’re going to see some more big food safety problems in the future. And I think as more organic fruits and vegetables are grown, the chances of a problem increase.
Don Harris, a grocery industry veteran who addressed the audience at the recent 2nd International Organic Fruit Research Symposium I attended in Leavenworth, WA, put it this way: The general public might believe organic produce is immune to food safety problems, but it’s actually more at risk because of composting.
Besides, the magic word, while perhaps not completely new, isn’t currently on all sorts of labels and displays in the nation’s grocery aisles. But it will be, and those products that carry it will virtually fly off the shelves. Consumers would just feel good about purchasing them. Anyone seen a genie?
Subscribe Today For
