Do You Speak Organic?
The Semantics of Marketing Success

By Laurie Demeritt


Consumer interest in organics is continuing to grow. However, many consumers buying in the category do not have a true understanding of what “organic” means in terms of production and processing, and in most cases, they don’t care to understand the true meaning. Organic is a symbolic word for them, something that signifies a lifestyle they want to participate in for a variety of reasons, such as health, taste or environmental benefits.
Depending on their level of involvement in the market, consumers use different words to describe organic. Therefore, the words that manufacturers and retailers use to speak to consumers about organic should correlate with the actual language used by the consumers themselves.

The “World” of Organic
Based on the integrated research methods of more than 15 years of quantitative data combined with innovative qualitative techniques drawing from sociology, anthropology and ethnography, The Hartman Group has developed a model of consumer behavior from a world perspective.

The individuals and organizations in the core are the ones who are most active in a given area of activity, while those at the periphery maintain only minimal, infrequent and less-intense involvement in the given world. Between these two extremes lay the majority of consumers—the mid-level, who participate to varying degrees in core wellness activities but who have yet to fully incorporate the complete range of world activities into their lifestyle.

In the world of organic food and beverage, the intensity and meaning of organic depends on which consumer segment is participating. For example, core consumers who have adopted organic foods have done so with the expectations that the food has been grown and cared for with intent to take care of the land and the recipient’s health. For the periphery, organic may simply mean something new with only vague health benefits.

Of the 66% of U.S. consumers who say they use organic products at least occasionally, the breakdown by segment is as follows: the core represents 21% of organic users, the mid-level represents 66% of organic users, and the periphery represents 13% of organic users.

Organic vs. Natural
The confusion about what organic means extends well beyond the perceptions of what organic foods actually are, and into the definition of what can be labeled organic. An analysis of the differences between descriptors of organic may indicate how involved a person is with organic foods. Periphery consumers often do not differentiate “natural” from “organic,” although this is less common than it was a few years ago. Further, they often are unaware of certification standards that allow a food to be labeled as such. As a person becomes more involved in eating organic foods, they tend to pay closer attention to these differences and are more likely to have a clear definition of what certified organic is compared to those products defined as natural.

The more involved a person becomes with organic foods, the greater their understanding of certification processes. Core consumers who understand the process, however, may be the same people that purchase non-organic foods from transitional farms (farms in the midst of the mandatory three-year transition from conventional to natural) in an effort to support new organic businesses and hope for greater availability of organic foods.

A new trend is emerging among core consumers who are thinking beyond the basic requisites of certified organic ingredients and are now considering and prefer organic products that are locally sourced, contain raw ingredients when possible, and are biodynamically processed (i.e., ground preparation, sowing, cultivating and harvesting crops with an understanding of the gesture and effect of each particular earth rhythm caused by the moon, sun and planets).

In most food and beverage categories, even peripheral organic consumers are beginning to differentiate between organic and natural, with “natural” not holding significant meaning to most consumers any longer. Surveys indicate many consumers believe that because so many products are labeled “natural” it must not really mean anything. When making a choice at the shelf, however, consumers who buy organic will opt for a product that is labeled “natural” over one that is not.

Consumers who are searching for these types of products look for the following information on the label, ranked in order of importance: organic; contains organic ingredients; no antibiotics; no growth hormones; no preservatives or additives; no genetically modified organisms (GMOs); free-range/naturally nested; natural.

Meaning of Organic to Consumers
Organic means different things depending on where a consumer resides in the world of organics (i.e., core, mid-level or periphery). Research has repeatedly shown that most periphery and mid-level consumers equate organic with one or two specific characteristics, such as pesticide-free or hormone-free, rather than a set of standards or a process. Core consumers understand the standards and the certification process and actively look for certified organic products.

The meaning of organic arises, in part, from the ways in which people use organic food but also from the social and cultural applications to which organic food lends itself. For example, the meanings of “organic” differ depending on whether it is perceived as a luxury food, a medicine or a farming process, and also depends on the consumer employing it. We’ve heard varying definitions of what organic means to people of different social, cultural and demographic backgrounds. The term “organic” certainly conjures up a wide variety of images and beliefs. The best way to illustrate this is through the actual words repeated by consumers.

Figure 1 highlights the positive word associations with organic. The figure is represented by a target image to indicate the difference in perceptions depending on how involved a person is with organics. The center of the image represents the core, the middle circle represents the mid-level and the outer edge represents the periphery.

Consumers also have some negative word associations with organic. For the periphery, there are still questions as to the value of organic, with some consumers using words like “debatable,” “too little, too late” and “uncertain.” The mid-level focuses more on the product quality, saying that organic can be “small,” “wilted” or “inconsistent.” The only negative word to come up frequently with core consumers is “trendy,” showing that once organic becomes too mainstream, the core is likely to look for the next new thing, as seen with the desire for locally grown foods.

Organic Languaculture
As a next step in understanding the meaning of organic, a language map is constructed using the predominant consumer themes around organic (Figure 2). The map depicts an underlying system (as opposed to individual cases) regarding how consumers arrange words and meanings to communicate feelings about organic products. Each system is derived from consumer quotes that illustrate frequently repeated and intimate connections between specific attitudes. This data is then overlaid with behavioral and cultural variables.

The sequence of maps shown in Figure 2 ties the system together to create a story about consumers’ perceptions and decision-making processes with regard to organic products. The map progresses from bottom to top, with the bottom representing consumers who are least likely to be engaged in an organic lifestyle and organic consumption, and the top representing those who are highly and intentionally involved with organic products.

A basic strategy to read the map is to:
• Consider the black areas the trunk of a tree. This is the predominant theme of language being used within this level of involvement.

• Treat the white areas as branches of supporting quotes, categories, products and examples that depict what the primary themes mean to consumers. Links between the primary themes are indicated by connecting lines between the circles.

As the diagram shows, consumers’ thoughts typically begin with issues and discussions related to either health or taste. Those who are motivated by taste tend to take a longer period of time to adopt organic products and go through more steps in decision-making than those motivated by health. For example, consumers motivated by taste concern themselves with issues of price and availability before intentionally purchasing organics. Those motivated by health tend to overlook other purchase criteria and immediately begin to intentionally purchase certain organic products on a fairly regular basis.

Consumers tend to begin their organic experimentation with the produce category. After they begin purchasing these products they start to gather information through various sources in order to learn more about organics. As they get more involved in organics, their attitudes evolve, believing that organic is a good alternative to conventional food, and for some consumers, moving to the belief that organic is not only better for them personally, but better for the larger community and the environment.

It is critically important for marketers to understand the words and language that their targeted consumers use regarding organic food and beverages. Although “organic” does have a meaning to many consumers, this meaning can differ significantly from segment to segment. Understanding which segment your consumers are in, and then using the appropriate words in your marketing and communications materials, will help ensure that the consumer is listening.

For example, manufacturers offering organic products in the gateway categories, such as produce, should use the language of periphery consumers in their marketing materials that appear at the bottom of the map. This means using words such as “pure,” “clean” and “safe,” which have meaning with consumers just entering the category. Companies that offer an organic option to the mid-level, or mainstream consumer, should use the language and tactics in the middle of the map. Therefore, they should understand that their consumers see organic as a good “alternative” and seek information about organic in newsletters and articles. Only those manufacturers targeting the core, usually small, niche brands in non-gateway categories (packaged and processed goods), should use the language at the top of the map. These manufacturers can talk about environmental and community benefits since core consumers resonate with these values and the associated language. Using language about environmental and community benefits will not appeal to the periphery and mid-level consumers.


Laurie Demeritt is President and COO of The Hartman Group, a leading consulting and market research firm specializing in the analysis and interpretation of consumer lifestyles. She can be reached at laurie@hartman-group.com.