Markets and marketing strategies for agroforestry specialty products in North America

Abstract

In agroforestry, marketing is unique for several reasons: many products typically lack established marketing institutions, market information, and grade or quality standards. All that is known about the market for many agroforestry specialty products is that someone is growing the product and consumers are buying it. What happens to the product as it moves through the value chain from producer to consumer is unknown, the ‘black box’ of agroforestry markets. To shed light on the black box and stimulate adoption of agroforestry practices, successful marketing strategies must be developed. Porter’s ‘Five Forces Model’ is presented as a viable approach to explore the competitive environment of unexplored markets. The Five Forces Model looks at the underlying fundamentals of competition that are independent of the specific strategies used by market competitors including: (1) potential entrants; (2) suppliers; (3) buyers; (4) substitutes; and (5) industry competitors. By understanding the competitive forces within an industry, market strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be identified and successful strategies can be developed. Standard marketing methods are highlighted to guide the development of specialty product market strategies. Woody florals research is described to illustrate a successful approach to agroforestry niche market development. Results of eastern red cedar market research are presented to illustrate use of the Five Forces Model as a framework for producers to look critically at potential markets and successfully identify opportunities, develop strategies, and avoid pitfalls. The information presented attempts to go beyond identification of the market participants (who, what and where) and seeks to identify the forces (how and why) of agroforestry markets.