Just type in purpose driven consumer and you will get a flood of titles about how consumers are buying with a purpose not just a good value. What does this mean especially for organic agriculture?
Fortunately, it means a lot according to a 2020 research study done by the IBM Institute for Business Value in association with the National Retail Federation. They surveyed over 18,980 consumers in 28 different countries to ask about shopping habits, drivers of brand and product choice, consumption patterns, and the willingness to change behavior based on a variety of personal values and beliefs.
The study is fascinating, and I don’t want to bore you with too many details but there are a few points worth noting. Sustainability has hit a tipping point over the last six years. Since 2014 global sustainability and environmentally responsible investment is up 68 percent and now tops 30 trillion US dollars. Over 7 in 10 consumers say it’s at least moderately important that brands offer “clean” products (78%), are sustainable and environmentally responsible (77%), support recycling (76%), or use natural ingredients (72%).
Who are purpose driven consumers? This report says, “they are consumers who select brands based on how well they align with their personal values and who are willing to “walk the talk” when it comes to sustainability, changing their behavior, and even paying more for brands that get it right.”
Within this survey, of those that said sustainability was very/extremely important, over 70% would pay a premium of 35% on average for brands that are sustainable and environmentally sound!
This is organic agriculture, and this is the purpose that drives all the organic farmers, ranchers and dairymen in the state of TEXAS!
Texas A&M AgriLife Organic 