Junge Erwachsene als Zielgruppe für den Bio-Markt

Abstract

This study investigates young adults as a target fort he organic food market. The recent growth of the organic market was accompanied by a change in it s consumers. Unlike in the beginning of the marketing of organic food, when most of the organic consumers where wholefood consumers and left-wingers, whose buying behavior was expressing their political orientation. Today there are various reasons to buy organic food. This growing heterogeneity of consumer types consequently led as well to different demands regarding organic products and their marketing. Therefore, segmentation into different consumer groups is found more and more, so that consumers can be targeted better. An interesting target group for the organic market are young adults. Not only are they a large group of consumers with a high turnover today and in the future. But also they are having a high influence impulse on other consumer groups. By raising and educating their children, they form eating and consumption habits of following generations. Also, as opinion-leaders for many other consumers, young people often set consumption trends (Diekhof 1999, p.34f.; Kumpf 1983, p 282ff.) This study therefore investigates the target group of todays young adults to find factors that are relevant for their organic consumption and on which advice for the marketing can be given. A theoretical analysis of the organic market and for the defined target group was done first, in which the relevant factors for organic consumption were shown. Then two quantitative and one qualitative study followed to investigate some of the factors further, with respect to their influence on young consumers buying decisions for or against organic products. The first study proved that mostly people with a high educational level know organic products and thus were able to answer the questions. A positive image of organic products was dominant in this group. Besides healthy , tasty and modern , a high price was associated to organics in the first place. This proved to be the main barrier against organic consumption in this group. Further reasons were a lack of time and/or a lack of interest, so that despite the good image, only 11% of the interviewees regularly purchased organic food. Allover young women were more health conscious and had a stronger motivation to buy alternative products than the men. In both genders a higher interest could be found in higher age groups. The second study showed moreover, that changes in the life cycle had strong effects on the eating and consumption habits of young adults. According to the results, being single, young adults are not a promising target group for organics as other areas than food are more important in that stage of life. In the second phase of the life cycle of young adults, the life with a partner, the interest in organic food rises, as quality starts to matter. In the third phase of the life cycle, the life with own children, the interest in organic food becomes much higher, as there is a strong feeling of responsibility for the children. For the last study, a qualitative research in form of problem orientated, partly biographic one-to-one interviews was conducted. It could be shown, that the decision for organic consumption of young adults is connected to the food and eating habits of their childhood as well as to socially relevant persons like friends or the partner. Although the partner often is the reason to start thinking about organic food, to initiate regular consumption, more factors have to work together. These factors can only partly be influenced by marketing activities, so that is was concluded, that in a high percentage of young adults, no interest in organics can be initiated. Thus even if young adults are an important and interesting target group with high potential, the existing sub-groups should be addressed differently, so not to waste marketing efforts. The advice for the marketing of organic products is to focus on those segments, that are interested in the subject at all. These are the higher age-groups among the young people with a high educational level, especially those with children and women in the first place. Although this will have a long-term effect, it will cause a growth of the organic market. Also a different positioning was proposed to account for the different demands of the heterogeneous group of young adults and thus to motivate the different groups better to increase their organic consumption.