The consumer chatter around organic food has been building up steadily over the last few years. We used the Auris platform to churn data and understand consumer insights related to organic food consumption. About 5000 conversations were used from October 2019 through August 2020.
Data used were publically available consumer conversations from the social channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube), news, and blogs. The highlights of what we learned are below.
A significant jump in consumer conversation driven by Covid-19.
The steadily moving buzz volume saw a step change because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumers have started evaluating alternatives that help boost immunity and therefore have started a switch from conventional products to organic.
The conversations indicate that a higher number of consumers are considering using organic products, perhaps a good sign for the category in India.
Conversations are generally positive.
Consumers appreciate the health benefits from organic alternatives and engage positively with the communication put out by organic food brands.
Conversations evenly distributed by gender. Most conversations are from the Tier I cities in India.
This shows that organic food is still an urban phenomenon and the upside for consumption penetration is high. Female participation reflects that they actively drive the decision to buy or consume organic food.
Conversation themes center around health benefits and sustainability.
Everyday health through organic food consumption is the dominant theme in health-related conversations.
Consumers also believe that organic food can lead to an enhanced state of wellness & happiness.
The high pricing of organic food is what mars the consumer experience.
This is followed by issues related to product quality.
Inspiring consumer efforts to switch to organic emerged from our deep dive. These stories are from all corners of the country.
- A Chennai family’s effort to transform their house into a zero-waste home relying on organic food and rainwater harvesting.
- A call to deal with increasing cancer prevalence by moving to organic food (Orissa).
- How an apartment building in Mumbai transformed itself to grow its own food organically and reduce wastage by recycling.
- Anganwadis in Mizoram are ploughing organic food for the nutritional needs of their children.
- Farmer co-operatives are growing organic food and selling directly to consumers in Palakkad.
- Organic food cooked traditionally in Nagaland.
- Consumer conversations on the ill-effects of consuming “fake food”
Top 20 influencers contributed to conversations on organic food in India.
Of the influencers, most of them were Government institutions, elected officials, industrialists or nutritionists.
News from the organic food category
- Corporate initiatives & Events
- Pricing related concerns resonate with industry leaders
- Media push to encourage consumption
- Organic good sector growth-related
- Government initiatives & programs
Conclusions
Over the past 12 months, consumer conversations on organic food have grown significantly in India, aided by the Covid 19 pandemic. Policymakers are industrialists who have pushed the envelope on the subject as well. Brands looking at launching new organic/sustainable/eco-friendly products should make use of such tailwinds.
Auris can be used for in-depth conversations analysis. For category insights like the one above, say ‘Hello’ to hello@genylabs.io.