Samenvatting

Over the past few years the terms 'fair trade', 'sustainable' and 'organic' have become
more present in combination with tea products in the supermarkets. These terms are used
for many different goals. Some suppliers actually try to provide the consumer with a
product that has been produced following strict rules and did not damage humans or
environment in the process. Others use the buzz-factor of these words to upgrade the
reliability of the image of their brand or product.
For this reason so-called label organisations exist to certify producers, processes and
products. At this moment there are many different organisations that are able to certify tea
and most use different standards, which causes a lot of confusion with the consumer.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations established guidelines for
organic production and the European Union adopted these in European law.
Unfortunately for the idealistic producer there still is a grey area, which offers many
opportunities for competition to mislead the consumer with nearly certified products.
The Dutch consumer has a certain decision making process that conflicts the shopping
behaviour when shopping for organic products. Often a link is made with a wealthy
lifestyle. The balance between the minimum price and the quality of the product is a
common principal requirement for the daily groceries. Furthermore, the consumer often
cannot tell the difference between 'fair trade', 'sustainable' and 'organic'. In fact, these
marks have become vague and indistinguishable for them.
A current market analysis of tea in supermarkets has been done by examining three tea
brands. Puur&Eerlijk by the Albert Heijn supermarkets, Fairglobe by the Lidl supermarkets
and Zonnatura that has been brought by the enterprise Royal Wessanen.
There is a difference between the promotional possibilities these brands have to present
their products in the stores. Clearly the two brands brought by a supermarket have the
home advantage of their own supermarket. Zonnatura on the other hand has secured a
complete separate section for their products in many supermarkets. This has been
achieved by becoming the recognised supplier for organic consumer products, while
engaging in collaborations with the competition of Albert Heijn and Lidl like Plus and
Jumbo.
The price setting strategy that is used for brand positioning and price tactics, indicates
how these brands deal with competition and how they add value for the consumer in
relation to the product. All three brands use the price to set a certain expectation with the
consumer and to position the product in line with the packaging and promotion.
Academy of European Studies & Communication Management !1
Organic tea in the supermarket Samantha Siewertsen
To go more into detail, the marketing objectives provide a certain message to the
consumer, while the corporate objectives determine the position and function of the
organic tea product in the overall strategy of the corporation. Those two objectives have to
be in line with each other, in order to position the tea successfully. As described before the
presentation possibilities on the shelves, the type of supermarket, and the qualifications of
the organic tea, have a lot of influence on the positioning of the tea.
For determining the threats and opportunities in the positioning process of the organic tea
product in the stores professionals’ perspectives have been used. Both the corporation
that brought the brand or product and the supermarkets or reseller have to invest in the
presentation of the tea, to make the organic product successful amongst other teas.
Although the organic claim can be an investment, the liability of the brand and the
communication via a logo can be indicated as a threat. On the other hand, the amount of
qualified teas, has increased over the past decade. Organic tea presents consumers a
morally appealing and healthy alternative what could be a stimulation for corporations to
develop their products more according to fair trade and organic guidelines, which would
increase overall sustainability of the food industry.