They're discerning, informed, demanding and one of the fastest growing segments of the purchasing public. Gwynne Rogers of the Natural Marketing Institute shares some insight on marketing to the LOHAS consumer.

SLM: First of all, tell us a little bit about your work at the Natural Marketing Institute.

Gwynne: NMI is a market research company that's been helping clients understand markets for natural products and services since 1990. We've been analyzing data on the LOHAS market since 2001, primarily through our annual consumer research study on LOHAS market. Each year we poll 2,000 U.S. adults on their attitudes toward sustainability and society, health and wellness, and use of LOHAS-related products such as organic food or hybrid cars. Based on that information we help our clients identify business opportunities and how best to capitalize on them.

SLM: Who are some of your best-known clients, and how did you help them tap the LOHAS market?

Gwynne: We've worked with Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, and Coca-Cola, as well as a lot of smaller startups. With more LOHAS-centric companies the goal is to stay ahead of trends and help them maintain resonance within their market. Larger corporations are looking to tap the LOHAS market with new natural products. For example Coke owns Odwalla, a brand that's well-positioned for LOHAS consumers. In that situation we might test new product opportunities or line extensions as well as corporate initiatives that might appeal to the target market, such as bottling with recycled-content plastic or powering the bottling plant with renewable energy.

SLM: So corporate sustainability initiatives that improve a company's overall green image can be considered part of its marketing strategy?

Gwynne: Yes, although sustainability at the corporate level appeals to a different kind of consumer. Most people think in terms of product they're interested in buying a particular juice, for example, because it's healthy and it tastes good. These are conventional attributes. Company sustainability programs appeal to narrower segment of buying population. The corporate behavior is disconnected from the product itself, so it goes over a lot of consumers' heads.

That said, effective corporate messaging manifests in many different ways. Our data shows that consumers are less price-conscious if they share values with the brand. Consumers also tend to be more loyal to the brand, and more likely to talk about the brand with friends and family. In addition, corporate initiatives get noticed by stakeholder groups such as investor coalitions and NGOs, which have a huge voice and are very effective at mobilizing their members.

SLM: Interest in LOHAS keeps going up. Is it just a matter of greater awareness of environmental and health issues, or are there are other drivers at work here?

Gwynne: Awareness is part of it, but manufacturers have done a great job of making environmental products more palatable to mainstream consumers in recent years. Prices have largely come down, products are more widely available, and more competitive in their own right. For example, the natural dish washing liquid of ten years ago, well, you really had to scrub to get your dishes clean. Manufacturers have overcome a lot of these design problems and their products can now perform on the same level as their counterparts.

You also have to consider the role LOHAS consumers have played in bringing natural products into the mainstream. Organic food is a great example of a product that LOHAS consumers drove into the mainstream, where other consumers were then able to appreciate the benefits. For health, freshness, or environmental reasons, a lot more general consumers are now buying organic.

SLM: What are the key things marketers need to do to capture the interest of LOHAS consumers?

Gwynne: There are three fundamentals to reaching the LOHAS market:

1. Use viral marketing. LOHAS consumers are independent thinkers who don't respond to the traditional marketing tactics of Madison Avenue. They don't want your product shoved down their throats. LOHAS consumers rely heavily on friends and family for product information and recommendations, so word of mouth is very important.
   


2. Be authentic. It's critical for companies to back up their LOHAS products with responsible corporate behavior. A green product marketed by a company not perceived to be green won't be nearly as successful. Before you roll out a new products, make sure company has all of its ducks in a row.


3. Educate the consumer. LOHAS consumers are very concerned about how, where, and with what their products are made. Provide them with as much information as possible. It's not enough to say a washing machine has Energy Star certification -- they'll also want to know exactly how much water it saves, where the materials come from, etc. The company that is able to respond to all of these questions will do better in the marketplace.

SLM: What's next for the LOHAS market?

Gwynne: LOHAS consumers are attractive for a lot of reasons, but they're not the easiest consuemers to please. As soon as you give them organic they want it local or fair trade. The plus side is, there's a continuing evolution in green products. At the conference I'll be talking about high-end sustainable products and how they will help widen the appeal of LOHAS and contribute to its growth.