Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Material and Methods
2.1. Research Design
2.2. Data Collection
2.3. Data Analysis
2.4. Validity
2.5. Reliability
3. Results
3.1. Descriptive Statistics of the Participants
3.1.1. Customers’ Profile
3.1.2. Analysis of Consumer Responses
3.1.3. Analysis of Producers’ and Suppliers’ Responses
3.2. Influencing Factors and Motivations
3.2.1. Why Do Customers Buy the Goods or Services You Provide?
- Convenience/Availability/Endurance
- Quality/Taste/Variety/Attractiveness
- Brand/Source
- Price
- Health
- Environment Friendliness/Social Responsibility
3.2.2. What Do Customers Really Value?
- Convenience/Efficiency/Consideration
- Pleasure
- Trust/Assurance/Reliability
- Value/Worth
- Sustainable Personal Happiness
- Long-term Sustainability
3.3. Barriers to the Purchase Decision
3.3.1. Price Premium
3.3.2. Availability
3.3.3. Attraction
3.4. Products Knowledge
3.4.1. Consumers’ Perspectives
3.4.2. Suppliers’ Perspectives
3.4.3. Producers’ and Suppliers’ Perspectives
- Education of Consumers
- Communication with Customers
4. Discussion
4.1. Main Findings
- How can value be delivered?
- How much do customers understand the products?
- Who are the best customers for organic products?
4.2. A Comparative Discussion of the Findings and the Literature
4.2.1. Value Delivery
- Availability
- Branding
- Communication
4.2.2. Education
4.2.3. Dynamic Customer Focus
4.3. Summary
4.4. Implications and Recommendations
4.5. Limitations and Future Study
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Meeting | Type | Age (years) | Sex | Industry and Position |
---|---|---|---|---|
(M/F) | ||||
1. | C-1, Organic food consumer/ Obesity problem | 39 | Male | PhD student at the University of Ulster/Lecturer |
2. | S-1, Food supplier | 45 | Male | Sales manager for Northern Ireland, McColgan’s Quality Foods |
3. | C-2, Non-organic food consumer | 40 | Female | Householder, nursing background |
4. | S-2, Food supplier/Local farm shop | 44 | Male | Owner of Gentender Ltd. |
5. | C-3, Health food consumer | 24 | Female | A social worker from Rathbone, Belfast |
6. | C-4, Health food lover/ Consumer/ Vegetarian | 25 | Female | Charity administrator |
7. | C-5, Potential organic food consumer | 55 | Female | Senior secondary school teacher |
8. | C-6, C-7, Non-organic food consumer/ Obesity and chronic diseases | 50 58 | Female Male | Nurse Teacher (this was a couple) |
9. | S-3, Food supplier | 50 | Male | Ireland commercial manager at Dale Farm Ltd., Belfast, UK |
10. | C-8, Organic and health food consumer | 26 | Male | PhD student at the University of Ulster (European surveillance of congenital anomalies benefit risk analysis in food) |
11. | C-9, Organic food consumer | 39 | Female | Landscape business director, self-employed |
12. | E-1, E-2, Organic business expert | 40/23 | Male | Agriculture and rural development/ Food standard agency |
13. | P-1, Organic food producer S-4, Organic food supplier | 42/ 43 | Male/ Male | Owner of Burren Organic Farm Marketer at Burren Organic Farm |
14. | S-5, Organic food supplier | 58 | Female | Organic products store manager |
15. | C-10, Potential consumer | 36 | Male | Fitness instructor |
16. | C-11, Potential consumer | 42 | Male | PhD, University lecturer |
17. | C-12, Organic consumer | 58 | Female | Vice-chancellor in a primary school |
Age | Sex | Family Status | Employment Status | Health Status | Organic Food Consumers | Nationality | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
C-1 | 39 | M | Married w/1 child | PhD/ University Lecturer | Obesity | Yes | Nigeria |
C-2 | 40 | F | Married w/1 child | Household/ Nursing background | OK | No | UK |
C-3 | 24 | F | Single | Social worker | Good | Casually | Germany |
C-4 | 25 | F | Single with partner | Administrator | Good | Casually | UK, British born Turkish, |
C-5 | 55 | F | Married w/1 child | Senior secondary school teacher | Good | Yes | UK |
C-6 | 50 | F | Married w/2 child | Teaching Assistant/ Nursing background | Good | Casually | UK |
C-7 | 58 | M | Married w/2 child | Part-time teacher | Obesity | No | UK |
C-8 | 26 | M | Single | PhD student | Good | Yes | Dutch |
C-9 | 39 | F | Married no child | Self-employment | Good | Yes | UK |
C-10 | 36 | M | Single | Fitness instructor | Good | Rarely | UK |
C-11 | 42 | M | Single | PhD/University Lecturer | Good | Rarely | Iran |
C-12 | 58 | M | Married w/1 child | Retired businessman | Normal, Cancer recovered | Rarely | UK |
Ranked | Q1. Influenced Factors | Q2. Motivation | Q3. Barriers | Q4. Eco-Concern | Q5. Knowledge |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Availability | Tasty | Availability | Yes | Insufficient |
2. | Variety | Health concept | Culture: eating habits | ||
3. | Taste | Eco-friendly | Price | ||
4. | Quality | Cost-effective | Insufficient knowledge of organic food | ||
5. | Brand, Source | Health concept | Value of price | ||
6. | Price | Food security | Source | ||
7. | Health-conscious, environmentally friendly |
Ranked | Q1. Motivation | Q2. Barriers | Q3. Eco. Concern | Q4. Knowledge | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Availability | Strategy | Yes | Insufficient | |
2. | Variety | Price, culture, eating habits, knowledge of organic food | Yes | Insufficient | |
3. | Taste, quality | Taste, high cost, capability | Yes | Insufficient | |
4. | Brand, source | Price | Yes | Insufficient | |
5. | Health concept, profit | Knowledge and price | Yes | Insufficient |
Questions for Research | Why Do Customers Buy the Goods or Services You Provide? | What Do Customers Value? | How Could That Value Be Delivered? | Literature Applied |
---|---|---|---|---|
Finding | -Convenience/ Availability -Variety -Taste -Quality -Brand/Source -Price -Health -Eco-issue/ Social responsibility | -Efficiency/Consideration -Pleasure -Trust/Assurance/Relief -Value -Sustainable happiness -Long-term sustainability | -Availability (Place) -Communication (Promotion) -Education (Product) | Market-led innovation (Doyle Bridgewater, 2012); The innovator’s solution (Christensen, 2003). |
Discussion | Availability | Branding | Communication |
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Chen, S.C.-I.; Liu, C.; Wang, Z.; Arya, F. Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 2941. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052941
Chen SC-I, Liu C, Wang Z, Arya F. Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(5):2941. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052941
Chicago/Turabian StyleChen, Sonia Chien-I, Chenglian Liu, Zhenyuan Wang, and Farid Arya. 2022. "Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 5: 2941. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19052941