Consumers Are Looking to go "Back to the Future"

Harleysville, Pa. (July 2007) – The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services for the health, wellness and sustainability marketplace, today expanded on one of the key trends it has identified as having a significant impact in 2007 and beyond.

In response to decades of over-massification, including malls, big box retail chains and the “vanilla-ization” of retail, consumers are now embracing a Back to the Future authenticity which focuses on hand-crafted and unique products underscoring their desire for simplicity and quality.

A key manifestation of this trend is the growing popularity for locally grown food and the support for local farms. Slightly more than one-quarter (26%) of the general population agree completely that it is important for their store to have locally grown produce; 25% of organic food/beverage consumers have purchased organic products from a local farm or farmer’s market in the past year while 24% of natural food users state they started using natural foods in order to support local farmers.

According to Linda Povey, a Vice President of Strategic Consulting at NMI, “Retailers and manufacturers who are recognizing this trend are having success among consumers. Trader Joes, for example, has embraced authenticity with its smaller retail footprint, quaint signage and friendly “crewmembers” even across a 250+ store chain. Shoppers are able to discover gourmet foods in an environment that feels distinctly non-corporate. In the beverage category, limited-run, handcrafted, upstart brands such as Jones Soda have been well received as consumers continue to move away from big soda brands.”

Even the perception of being small and authentic is enough to motivate consumers to purchase. Despite being owned by larger corporations, brands such as Cascadian Farm, Horizon Organic, Stonyfield Farm and Odwalla are experiencing significant market share penetration as their product offerings, packaging and marketing provide a reassuring Back to the Future consumer experience.

This, and NMI’s other top ten trends of 2007, are based on data and insight from a variety of NMI proprietary databases, including the Health & Wellness Trends Database.

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NMI is a strategic consulting, market research, and business development company specializing in health, wellness and sustainability. For more information on NMI’s proprietary research reports and services, visit NMI’s web site at www.NMIsolutions.com.