Newsletter No. 52 – Item 2

This statement “Ethical food store opens with £12 ostrich eggs” was the headline of a link published in this newsletter.  The link is no longer active, but discussed the Wholefoods Store that had recently opened their first store in England.  I went onto report: 

When I visited the store last weekend (June 2007) there were no ostrich eggs and Rhea eggs were £25.00.  The Rhea eggs were yellow in colour, instead of a good off-white colour.

This particular store’s marketing differentiation is their very high standards of animal welfare and all produce free from the many negatives that have increasingly become associated with food production in recent years.  Their standards demonstrate clearly how food marketing today starts on the farm and is a partnership from the farm to the plate.    Readers can view those welfare standards here.

GlobalGAP is a global standards certification scheme that many major buyers utilise. Newsletters 10, 23 and 42 have discussed the importance of quality marks and introduction of best practice.

One problem with ostrich production is that many become involved with no vision for the market.  Producing meat and placing it in store with the hope of finding a market later is unlikely to work in today’s market place because, as can be seen with the increasing use of accreditation and quality standard schemes, you need your market established first.  You need to know  your market demands and then produce to the standards they require.  This is more challenging with Ostrich, as it is a new market in every country, with many buyers interested, but little understanding of the product.

March 2013:  Wholefoods published the following press release “Whole Foods (WFM) Plans to Label All Products Disclosing GMOs by 2018” earlier this month.  It will take them that long to establish the full reliable supply chain where they have total control in the volumes they require and able to guarantee their products as free from GM ingredients.  This move is driven by consumer demand to enable them to make informed choices about the food they consume.  This move further illustrats of how “marketing starts on the farm”.