We commit to reaching a broader CONSUMER base through innovations in product development, branding and marketing, and accessibility
Expand to view each of the Consumer Commitments including strategies, success indicators, resources, and solutions partners:
Innovate products that are more relevant to a broader range of consumers
Success looks like:
A greater diversity in the natural products consumer base.
Strategies may include:
- Design products for a broader audience
- Conduct market research aimed to understanding marginalized community’s needs, perspectives, and desires
- Involve people with marginalized identities in product development (e.g., focus group, brainstorming, product development, advisory committee)
- Hire creative consultants (graphic design, branding, etc.) holding marginalized identities
Resources:
Solutions Partners:
Ensure your branding and marketing speak to a broader audience
Success looks like:
- A greater diversity in the natural products consumer base.
- An improvement in public perception about the relevance of natural products to a broader range of people and communities
Strategies may include:
- Hire a diverse marketing team that can authentically speak to a broader audience
- Engage in multicultural marketing efforts (language translation, non-English language radio and other ad channels)
- Ensure imagery shows visible diversity
- Ensure storytelling is diverse in stories and storytellers
- Avoid tokenizing the people and stories you feature by ensuring stories are told by them, in their voices and words, with their approval.
- Involve people with marginalized identities (e.g., focus groups) in product naming, taglines, messaging, & branding
- Establish ambassador programs aimed to attract a broader audience
- Publish articles on efforts to promote JEDI in the company and industry as a model for others
Resources:
Ensure products are more financially and geographically accessible
Success looks like:
- An increase in distribution of natural products across retailers (including rural retailers)
- A decrease in price point in some foods (or specific product lines)
Strategies may include:
- Create more affordable product lines (underwritten by the less affordable product lines)
- Intentionally place products in non “premium” retail markets such as Walmart to challenge the perception that creating affordable natural products will tarnish the reputation of the industry
- Utilize e-commerce as a tool to increase accessibility
- Provide retail accessibility in areas that don’t have access to grocery, etc.
- Work with retailers to become more J.E.D.I friendly and shoppable
Resources:
Solutions Partners:
Address environmental, climate, social, and food injustices that impact your current and prospective customers with more robust brand activism
Success looks like:
- A greater number of campaigns focusing on issues impacting frontline communities
- More conversations at trade events on brand activism supporting front line communities
Strategies may include:
- Partner with and support food justice organizations to better understand how to increase accessibility of healthy foods
- Support industry-wide conversations and collaborations at ExpoWest and other related events on the topic of justice
- Engage in advocacy/lobbying for equitable and just food and agriculture policies at the federal and state levels
- Engage in corporate giving in service of justice (e.g., 2% of revenue for job creation for marginalized communities)
Resources:
Take public policy action related to Consumer work
Success looks like:
Advocating for policies that address: expansion of school meal programs (in both K-12 and higher education systems), expansion of food access and assistance program, decreasing toxins in produce and packaged foods, food access issues (e.g. grocery store accessibility), and food safety issues.
Strategies may include:
- Track Food Justice related bills and add your support
- Advocate for SNAP benefits to be maintained and expanded to ensure all families have access to food
- Advocate for passage of the Universal School Meals Act to ensure all children in schools have access to a hot breakfast and lunch
- Advocate for the passage of the Tribal Nutrition Act of 2019 to give tribes control of their school breakfast program, the school lunch program, the child and adult care food program, or the summer food service program for children.