The 2016 election and natural products … what do they have in common?

By: Daniel Lohman, CPSA

Published By Whole Foods Magazine

The 2016 election taught us a lot about our country.  We learned that there were large groups of people who felt unappreciated and ignored for many years and people who felt that their voices were not heard in this year’s election.

I can boil this down just two single talking points: transparency and authenticity.

Apathy:  We learned that our vote matters, regardless which side of the aisle you're on.  There are some who spoke up for the first time ever and others who decided to stay home on election day.

This is similar to the way many consumers view the food they eat.  While most take for granted the products that they consume, others diligently read product labels.  We as consumers frequently overlook the fact that we vote for the items on retailer shelves with our dollars – the money we spend to buy the products we want.  There's a lot of power in that statement.  A lot of retailers in large CPG companies spend a lot of money and work really hard to get us to buy items they want to sell.  Frequently, this includes products that are not nutritionally sound.  As consumers, we can dictate our preferences to retailers in the form of the products we choose to buy.  For example, if shoppers chose to only purchase organic produce, then retailers would only stock organic produce.  The same holds true in every category and with every retailer.

Consumers can also be apathetic about their choices including the ingredients found in their favorite brands. There is a big difference in the way the ingredients are produced and the nutritional value they offer in the end product.  There's also big a difference in where the ingredients are produced.  Think of fine wines.  We have all heard stories about how the grapes absorb certain characteristics unique to where they are grown.  The same holds true for the foods we eat.  This has a lot to do with why some produce is plump and juicy with vivid colors while similar items can be dull and bland in appearance at other retailers. Savvy consumers focus on learning more about the food we eat and what the labels are telling us.

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