For Consumers, A Light Bulb Has Gone On – Will Companies See The Light?

By Wayne Zink, CEO, Endangered Species Chocolate

Right now, someone somewhere is making a crucial purchasing decision. This person is not mulling over which home to buy or which college to send his daughter to. He’s debating over a light bulb.

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Incandescent or fluorescent?

What we are finding in the marketplace right now are folks who are taking action with their buying habits – they are voting with their dollars. Consumers today are increasingly savvy and well-informed, and they understand and can differentiate between products that are healthier, benefit their fellow human beings more or – like the fluorescent bulb – are more environmentally friendly.

Companies are beginning to understand that that something has clicked for a large consumer demographic, and if these customers can make an easy purchase that is cause-related, they will – even if it costs a little more.

Take hybrid vehicles, for example. Their sticker prices are higher than their conventional, gas-only counterparts, and the cost-benefit savings at the pump is still up for debate. Yet, hybrid car sales have risen consistently in the U.S. since Honda introduced the Insight to the American market in 1999. In that year, only a couple of hundred units were sold. Since then, U.S. hybrid sales have nearly doubled every year. From 9,350 cars in 2000 to more than 170,000 cars this year, the growth speaks volumes.

Like light bulbs, however, big ticket items aren’t the only purchases for which consumers are paying a few extra dollars to receive a greater benefit. More and more Americans are bringing their discerning debit cards to the grocery store and going organic. Where once organic products were only available in specialty stores or directly from growers, major supermarket chains now have entire sections devoted to organic foodstuffs. As a result, the industry itself is growing exponentially each year.

Organic products go well beyond the most oft-thought-of items such as bread and dairy products, reaching into the realms of fine wines, olive oils and butcher cuts of meat. Organics are clearly here to stay.

Last year alone, retail organic food sales were $10.4 billion, according to the Organic Trade Association. In 2005, organic foods are expected to exceed $15 billion. Although the conventional food industry still enjoys $550 billion in yearly sales, its annual growth rate is merely 2 to 3 percent. The organic industry is jumping nearly 20 percent every year.

Sometimes it’s not just the products that consumers are willing to support. Often it’s the company itself – their brand, their mission – that affects buying decisions and breeds customer loyalty.

From acrid production plant emissions to non-biodegradable packaging, few business decisions fail to have an impact outside the walls of the headquarters or production facility. Further, business leaders have an obligation as corporate citizens to ensure that what they do, 1. does no harm, and 2. offers some greater benefit to the world around them. Customers are paying attention like never before, and they want to be assured that when they make a purchase, they too are doing no harm and contributing to a greater good.

Want to sell to this growing market of conscientious consumers? First, walk the walk. Consider these tips that can work for any company:

1. Start and maintain a companywide recycling program.

2. Be a good corporate citizen: make donations and allow your employees time for community service.

3. Be mindful of how your business effects the outside environment (i.e. pollution).

4. Conduct a building audit to determine where improvements can be made for a healthier building.

5. Treat your employees with the respect they deserve.

6. Truly know the other companies with which you do businesses, the sources of your raw materials, etc.

7. Develop, post and live your values statement.

There are many other ways companies can begin to develop the right mindset to reach out to this growing group of socially conscious consumers. These measures needn’t be extravagant or expensive – just effective.

And, by the way, fluorescent bulbs use about 75-85 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs.

Wayne Zink is the CEO of Indianapolis-based Endangered Species Chocolate, the leading brand of all-natural chocolate. ESC provides customers with delicious, all-natural chocolate made from beans that are shade grown on cacao trees under the natural canopy of the forest. To honor its core value – Reverence for Life – ESC confirms that all beans used in its products are purchased from family-owned properties where the income benefits the community. ESC also donates 10 percent of net profits to organizations involved in the conservation of species, habitat and humanity.

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