Developing a Marketing Strategy for Green Products in Chinese Food Companies

Introduction

The aim of the research is to increase the awareness of ‘green product ‘ in Chinese food companies and Prospects for the development of a marketing strategy to meet the green challenge.

To consider the concept of green marketing emergence and development

To explore the consumption demand of green product via the green customers psychology and their behaviors.
To emphasizes on the impacts of quality, brand, package, price, place, advertisement and public relation on the green food marketing.
To examine the corporation social responsibility relationships between enterprises and society.
To propose a framework for a marketing strategy

RATIONALE:

In recent years, with the level of awareness of food security concerns, the increase in some areas of China green food industry has begun to take shape.

At present, the green food industry has developed the equivalent of 3-5 times the output value of farming. Foods, both at home and abroad, will have huge potential for development, which is the set of economic, ecological and social benefits in one particular industry, there is great economic development.
With the improvement of living standards and changes in consumer attitudes, as well as environmental pollution and resource destruction of increasingly serious problem is conducive to people’s health, non-polluting, safe, high-quality nutritious foods has become a fashion, more and more people of all ages. Development of green food has a sound basis for strong market consumption. Green Food sales data show that people around the world trust in conventional food supply declined, while the rate of increase demand for organic foods has been growing faster than supply. Japan has 91.6% of consumers interested in organic vegetables, 77% of Americans and 40% of Europeans favorite foods.
In China domestic market, organic foods has also been widely welcomed, green food to meet the needs of people living in transition. ? The relevant departments of the two cities, Beijing Shanghai survey showed that 79% -84% of consumers prefer to spend high prices, but also willing to buy green. According to authoritative institutions predict that the national green food will be consumer demand and profits are growing at a rate of 20% per year.
In addition, labor-intensive production of green food, a variety of operating characteristics such as the production of green food in developed countries are subject to certain restrictions, some countries in the aggregate have a serious shortage, at present in Germany, the UK organic foods rely heavily on imports, and import volume of domestic consumption has accounted for 98% and 80%.

Green food industry at home and abroad the strong development momentum and the strong demand for the development of China’s green food industry provides a good external environment.

But experts believe that China’s green food industry is faced with environmental pollution and resource destruction brought about accelerated reduction in the level of quality standards.

The need for the development of green food industry

Green is clean, safe, high-quality nutritious food, green food production and consumption into the protection of the environment, respect for nature to promote the concept of sustainable development of human society. Start green consumer market, the formation of green food production and consumption trends is essential.

First of all, the development of green food is the globalization of China’s integration into the world economy, the inevitable choice. China’s accession to the WTO, as a large agricultural country, should bring agriculture and green food processing industry as the country’s pillar industries. Fo green food industry is not only economic benefits were considerable, but in line with China’s national conditions, construction of green food base, development of special economic – ecological agriculture and green food processing industry, will surely have a difficult to measure social and economic benefits. After accession to the WTO, China should become the world’s foods (mainly organic food), and a major supplier of natural medicines.

Second, the development of green food industry is agriculture, the extensive mode of operation from the traditional to the modern green management style, develop modern agriculture needs. In the current context of China’s resource constraints, but also to change a single large-scale investment of natural resources characterized by low efficiency of resource elements combination, change the grain as the key link, heavy agriculture and light industry agricultural economic growth, changes to a single purely rely on experience in operations, self-sufficient small farmers in semi-subsistence mode of production to achieve the natural economy from extensive agriculture to the commodity economy and the market economy into a modern ecological agriculture and promote the industrialization of green food and internationalization.

Third, the development of green food industry is from the traditional planting and breeding industry to an integrated business segment of society’s changing needs. Should be in legislation, policies and quality standards of green food products with international standards step by step so do a good job to join the WTO and to meet international competition. To face both domestic and overseas markets and make full use of two kinds of resources, the implementation of modern enterprise management and enhance scientific and technological content and enhance the agricultural and food processing industry’s competitiveness.Through different levels and in different forms of vertical and horizontal joint, the formation of trans-regional, cross-sectoral, cross-ownership of modern agriculture and integrated management of enterprises and groups, integrated management of agriculture into the overall pattern of agricultural modernization among.

Fourth, the development of green food industry is scattered from the traditional to the modern management of Agricultural Integration of industrial operation’s changing needs. Through the industrial management of agriculture, you can optimize the combination of production factors into full play the role of science and technology elements to enhance the quality of agricultural products and grades, and achieve multi-level value-added; income of the farmers was greatly improved. ???????????? Through industrialization, the land can be appropriate scales to promote and encourage the farmers embark on a new United Way, and gradually form matched with the needs of the pillar industries, with specialization and regionalization of production of the regional economic structure suited to enhance competition in domestic and foreign markets force and expand market share.

Green food industry faces ecological threat

Although my country has developed green food industry, natural resource advantages, but in recent years, China’s industrialization, the agricultural ecological environment has deteriorated trend, direct threat to the green food industry.

In recent years, due to agro-ecological environmental degradation caused by agricultural pollution is very serious, industrial “three wastes” and the large number of urban domestic sewage to the rivers, lakes emissions. Part of carrying mercury, lead, arsenic, chromium and other harmful toxic substances in industrial waste water through irrigation water to the farmland, coupled with the irrational use of chemical fertilizers (mainly the excessive use of nitrogenous fertilizers), pesticides and the loss of human and animal feces, etc., agricultural pollution is increasing, thus lead to surface water and groundwater quality pollution. More than half of China’s lakes are at different levels of eutrophication status, the Yangtze River and other rivers in the nitrogen content is also showing a rising trend and become a frequent occurrence of red tide offshore of the important reasons.

Former vice minister of Ministry of Agriculture, relative to re-Yang believes that to protect the ecological environment, first of all to speed up the development of national agro-ecological environment protection policies and regulations, as soon as possible the establishment of agricultural and agro-ecological environment monitoring system and the development of relevant standards, regular monitoring and reporting of agricultural by-products and its production environment has been polluted, so as to ensure that agricultural products do not harm people’s health. Actively promote the Festival of nitrogen fertilizer application techniques, adjusting fertilizer structure, and the implementation of balanced fertilizer formula, vigorously develop high-performance multi-fertilizer, promotion of special fertilizer, and actively promote organic manure fertilizer matching system.To strengthen agricultural protection advocacy training to improve management and technical personnel at all levels of agriculture and the peasant masses of agricultural environmental protection consciousness.

Green food industry is a systemic project, the parties must in all aspects to ensure product quality. The establishment of green food base for the industrialization of green food is conducive to speed up the pace of development is conducive to really make the green out of an Agricultural Integration, Chan Jiaxiao stop the industrialization path. At present, common organic fertilizer production methods still in the original state, either can not meet the quality and quantity of green food production.

China Green Food Standards urgently with international standards

As China Green Food standards and international standards are not unified, China’s green food export restrictions importance of working with international practice.

Heilongjiang Academy of Social Sciences researcher Songkui that foods with international standards, first of all to speed up green standards, certification criteria, such as trade rules with international practice. AAAA grade green food is the integration with the international organic food products, its export potential. China’s accession to WTO, has a comparative advantage in agricultural products face a large number of export opportunities. We should speed up the standards of construction, speed up the standards, certification procedures and related rules and regulations with international standards, in order to further explore the international market conditions. In particular, to master its international standards, and management requirements in respect of its changes, the more accurate market forecasts based on the formulation of scientific marketing strategies in order to quickly enter the international markets and expanding market share.

At present, the serious problems faced by the certification body is the certification standards and systems into line with EC standards are not role models, and its certification does not endorse the European Community, recognition is not high. Many customers have specifically requested by the European Community recognized national accreditation body. EC in recent years, some well-known Certification Authority have been carried out in China, the organic product certification work, and significantly increasing customer demand. Chinese certification body in the certification criteria, certification procedures and certification system still needs to be improved, and to the strict accreditation checks.

According to the EC requirements and the status of certification bodies in China, we recommend our organic product standards relevant departments to speed up the changes and development work, and actively with the international standards, as soon as possible a unified organic product regulations, in accordance with international standards to establish a reliable and reputable certification system, and through various channels to expand our certified organic product certification bodies and their well-known abroad for Chinese manufacturers to provide effective access to international markets passes. In addition, in the face of foreign certification bodies for organic products certified in China’s competitive pressure should increase the sense of crisis, turn pressure into motivation, as soon as possible from the organic product certification in China are not European Economic Community, the United States and Japan, accepted the situation, so that China organic products certified bodies to become the world’s major markets for organic products to consumers, importers, wholesalers and exporters in China jointly recognized quality certificate

Speed up the construction of green food base

Foods to form the pattern of big market, the key to have the leading products and mass production as a guarantee. Experts believe that although our country has a lot of green food base, but the most decentralized management, fragmentation is quite prominent, it is difficult to form scale advantages. In many places, though already have developed a number of green food, but delays do not form a superiority reason is mainly a single product structure, production and decentralized operation, economies of scale is poor, production, supply and poor convergence. Most have not formed at home and abroad utter the least sound-quality products. Therefore, while paying attention to industrial restructuring, with emphasis to large-scale, grouping the direction of taking mergers, horizontal joint-stock forms of cooperation, and vigorously to form a group of large-scale green food production bases and Enterprise Group in order to really play a leading enterprise-led scale production push-pull effect of market circulation in order to continuously enhance our foods at home and abroad market competitiveness.

As green food base for the creation, construction, development and growth must be strong leading enterprises to drive. Actively cultivate high-tech, large-scale, market competitive foods processing enterprises, the formation of the Commonwealth Agricultural Integration of green food development to achieve superiority in agriculture industrialization. ?? Our country become the world’s major supplier of organic foods.

In the domestic large and medium cities should be set up through the window, and opened green channel and other measures to continuously improve the market share; in foreign countries to open up shipping routes through the establishment of overseas offices, start-up window, such as direct sales channels, enhance the radiation power of green food market. On this basis, we should adopt recommendation, training, selection and other means to continuously develop and expand the ranks of brokers to establish a domestic and international market to ride the “flow of force”, making organic foods are sold at home and abroad force.

THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING

The subject which relate with my topic will focus on the author ken peattie’s book, the reason is that he was the first person who discovered the green marketing principle and increasing our knowledge on the concept of environment, not only for the society, but also for all types of organizations. The section for this area is only the primly source understanding,

There are four sectors need to be considering in the following order(just a brief description of them):

The green marketing defined

Ken peattie(1992) point out, ‘Green marketing is a style of marketing which has arisen response to the increasing concern about the state of the global environment and the life it contains (including human life).

1. The green product

Ken peattie(1995)said that green product is one of the newest product classifications to arise, but is also one of the most difficult to apply because the green product refers to the production of a specific mode of production, and the relevant specialized agencies by the state found, allowing the use of green food logo pollution, pollution-free, safe, high quality, nutritional food.

3. The green customers and their behaviors

Kotler (1994) defines a product as ‘anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need’.

The green product is the way to meet the green customers.

According to Ken peattie(1992),’The ‘green consumer’ is the driving force behind the green marketing process. It is consumer demand which is encouraging improvements in the environmental performance of many products and the companies that produce them. For marketers, it is important to understand what it means to be a green consumer and perhaps also what it takes to be a green marketer and also said that ‘Marketers are interested in the buying behavior of the customers within the company’s target markets’.

Corporate Social Responsibility

In recent years, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has become a strategic, customer buying behavior, brand, profitability and other key elements of business practice associated with the business. Theory and practice abroad show that corporate social responsibility, not only help to improve the welfare of society as a whole, the improvement of the competitiveness of enterprises also have an irreplaceable role. And because marketing practice, customer satisfaction on long-term corporate profits and shareholder value with far-reaching impact of strategic importance, therefore, to make Chinese companies more proactive social responsibility, in addition to helping companies understand the role of corporate social responsibility and the significance of corporate social responsibility and explore the relationship between the impact of customer satisfaction is definitely a good starting point: the ability to guide enterprises to take the initiative to put its own interests and the interests of the community together, through appropriate corporate social responsibility to act to improve overall competitiveness.

1.on the social responsibility associated with customer satisfaction

Fortune 500 companies have up to 90% already have a clear measure of corporate social responsibility initiatives (Kotler and Lee, 2004). Business Magazine (Business Week) 2005 special report year, a huge amount of large corporate disclosure related to corporate social responsibility investment, Target Corporation has invested nearly 100 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 3.6% of pre-tax profits, General Motors has invested 51.2 million U.S. dollars , representing the pre-tax profit of 2.7%, General Mills’s invested 60.3 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 3.2% of pre-tax profits, Merck has invested 920 million U.S. dollars, accounting for a pre-tax profit of 11.3%, Hospital Corporation of America has invested 9.2 100 million U.S. dollars, accounting for 43.3% of pretax profits.

Clearly, the rise of corporate social responsibility is socio-economic development to a certain stage. In developed countries, this concern of corporate social responsibility and oversight is increasing. Meanwhile, in the marketing literature, customer satisfaction because of the long-term profits and market value has a profound effect (Gruca and Rego 2005), there are also positive on shareholder value impact (Anderson, Fornell and Mazvancheryl 2004) and has important strategic significance, therefore, to explore corporate social responsibility impact on customer satisfaction has important theoretical and practical significance.

Some foreign scholars, the enterprise has undertaken various social responsibility, not only help to improve the welfare of society as a whole, beneficial to the enterprise itself. Bhattacharya, Smith, and Vogel(2004) proposed corporate social responsibility and should be integrated marketing strategy, corporate social responsibility to corporate brand equity, customer equity, market share, positive impact on corporate image.Chahal and Sharma (2006) established a corporate social responsibility analysis of the impact marketing performance framework, and that corporate social responsibility of enterprises is an effective marketing tool. Sen and Bhattacharya (2001) indicated that although the existing empirical studies of methods, approaches, there are still some flaws, but that the corporate social responsibility on corporate financial performance has a weak positive effect. Willmott and Mitchell (2001) research shows that consumers prefer more responsible products and services. These scholars are directly or indirectly, that the performance of corporate social responsibility good or bad indeed has an impact on customers. Therefore, this study suggests that further study of corporate social responsibility, the impact on customer satisfaction, can help us better understand the role of corporate social responsibility and the concept of customer satisfaction orientation.

Some of the existing research support, directly or indirectly, corporate social responsibility and the link between customer satisfactions:

Daub and Ergenzinger (2005) proposed the “general customer” concept. “Most customers” is not only concerned about the consumer experience of the consumer, but also the actual or potential stakeholder groups, one. From this point of view, “the general customer” will show good corporate social responsibility to provide more satisfactory products and services.

Good corporate social performances of companies, more beneficial to create a positive public opinion, enhance the consumer’s evaluation of the enterprise to improve the attitude of the consumer business (Brown1998 and Dacin 1997; Gurhan Canli and Batra 2004; Sen and Bhattacharya 2001). Especially in recent years, some studies (Bhattacharya and Sen 2003, 2004) proposed construction of corporate social responsibility is a key element of corporate identity, to attract customers more comfortable with a company, which is to produce a close relationship. In fact, Lichtenstein, Drumwright and Bridgette (2004) made a good corporate social performance of enterprises improved customer identification, to make it more support for the company, thus creating benefits for the company. Is not difficult to infer, full identification of the customer’s products and services more satisfied. (Bhattacharya, Rao and Glynn 1995; Bhattacharya and Sen 2003)

Luo & Bhattacharya (2006) believe that corporate social responsibility customer satisfaction by influencing the antecedent and thus affect the customer satisfaction. For example, empirical studies have shown that perceived value is an important antecedent to enhance customer satisfaction (Fornell et al. 1996; Mithas, Krishnan, and Fornell 2005b). Luo and Bhattacharya (2006)point out that in the other conditions being equal, a good corporate social performance of companies, customers can get a higher perceived value, thus enhancing their satisfaction with products or services, good social performance as product or service into a “value added.” Brammer and Pavelin (2004) findings suggest that, overall, corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation has a significant relationship. The corporate image as the concept of corporate reputation of the approximation (Dowling, 1993), the European model of customer satisfaction (ECSI), Chinese Customer Satisfaction Model (CCSI), there are certain degree of expression.

METHODOLOGY

Research strategy

Case Study:
Case study research is a method designed to study the particular within context and has a very specific purpose. […] The purpose of a case study is to provide a holistic account of the case and in-depth knowledge of the specific through rich descriptions situated in context. This may lead to an understanding of a particular phenomenon but it is understanding the case that should be paramount by PICARD, A.J (2007)
This paper will using the Tainted Sanlu Baby Milk Powder Incident identify the problems/issues in this case that are relevant to marketing.Analyze the case and apply concepts and theories of marketing to discuss the problems/issues Will be identified.

Marketing Problems:

For example: Celebrity Endorsement

1. Balance theory:

the scandal of the brand a consumer’ negative attitude toward the brand a consumer’s negative attitude toward the celebrity.

2. Social responsibility of the company;

The effectiveness of public relations in a crisis;

Product recall

B2B Problems: Supply Chain Management; Total Quality Management; Outsourcing; Purchasing…

The link including the milk powder production, cow raising, raw milk collection and dairy processing

Outsourcing to dairy farmers and milk dealers – they added melamine to the milk so that the diluted milk could still meet standards

B2B Problems: Supply Chain Management; Total Quality Management; Outsourcing; Purchasing

The link including the milk powder production, cow raising, raw milk collection and dairy processing:Purchasing, Quality control.

Dairy farmers a Milk dealers a Diary Producer (Sanlu) a Supermarket a Consumers:Cow raisingRaw,milk collectionDelivery, storage

B2B Problems: Supply Chain Management; Total Quality Management; Outsourcing ; Purchasing

There are two choose will be use(alternative):

1.investigate the problems from Sanlu (one company) perspective;

2.investigate the whole diary industry (Sanlu, Mengniu, Yili, Nestle; local brands & international brands);

Collect information from various sources; talk with diary distributors, diary producers, milk dealers, even consumers…

Research Method-Quantitative

Questionnaires/Survey

A questionnaire will be completed through http://www.monkeysurvey.com/

This project analyzes the impact of this behavior to identify the determining factor through research on the green purchase intention of consumers to. To this end, I designed a brief questionnaire, from different perspectives influence consumer purchasing decisions on a variety of psychological and social factors that raise questions.

This study will include 16 different area of Chinese food industry category

(See appendix for a complete list of green products to be pre-tested for inclusion in the final survey instrument!).

There will be two scales assessing the benefit emphasis of each item in the pretest.

One scale will assess “benefit to individual” and would range from “very little” to

“Very much” using a 5-point scale. The other scale will assess “benefit to society” in the same manner. The “gray” items will then be excluded, i.e., those which fall in the middle of the spectrum and are considered by some to benefit primarily the individual, by others primarily society.

The purpose for this survey is to identifies the Influence of consumer decision to purchase organic foods on the determinants of access to a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of sustainable consumption and thus contribute to the further development.

Reference and Bibliography:

1.Anderson, Eugene W., Claes Fornell, and Sanal Mazvancheryl (2004),“Customer Satisfaction and Shareholder Value,” Journal of Marketing,68:4 (October), 172-185.

2. Bhattacharya, C., Rao, H. & Glynn, M.A. 1995. Understanding the bond of identification: An investigation of its correlates among art museum members. Journal of Marketing, 59: 46-57

3.Bhattacharya, C.B., and Sen, S. (2003). Consumer-Company Identification: A Framework for Understanding Consumers’ Relationships with Companies. Journal of Marketing 67(2): 76–88.

4.Bhattacharya, C.B., Smith, N. C., and Vogel, D. (2004). Integrating Social Responsibility and Marketing Strategy: An Introduction. California Management Review 47(1): 6–8.

5.Brammer, S & Pavelin, S 2004, ‘Voluntary social disclosures by large UK companies’, Business Ethics: A European Review, vol. 13, no. 2/3, pp. 86-99.

6.Brown, Tom J. (1998), “Corporate Associations in Marketing:Antecedents and Consequences,” Corporate Reputation Review, 1 (3), 215–33.

7.Chahal , H. and Sharma, R.D 2006, ‘Implications of Corporate Social Responsibility on Marketing Performance: A Conceptual Framework’, Journal of Services Research, vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 205-216.

8.Daub, C.-H., & Ergenzinger, R. (2005). Enabling Sustainable Management through a New Multi-Disciplinary Concept of Customer Satisfaction. European Journal of Marketing, 39(9/10), 998-1012.

9.Dowling, G.(1993).Developing your company image into a corporate’, Long Range Planning vol:101 no.9

10.Fornell, C., M. D., E. W. Johnson, J. Anderson, J. Cha, and B. E. Bryant (1996), “The American Customer Satisfaction Index: Nature, Purpose, and Findings,” Journal of Marketing, 60, 7-18.

11.Fornell, C., Mithas, S., Morgeson, F. and Krishnan, M. S. (2006). Customer satisfaction and stock prices: High returns, low risk. J. Marketing 70(1) 3–14.

12.Luo, X., and Bhattacharya, C.B. (2006). Corporate Social Responsibility, Customer Satisfaction and Market Value. Journal of Marketing 70(4): 1–18 (lead article).

13.Gurhan -Canli Z.Batra R(2004),” When corporate image affects product evaluations:the moderating role of perceived risk

14.Gruca, T.S., and L.L. Rego (2005) Customer Satisfaction, Cash Flow, and Shareholder Value. Journal of Marketing, Volume 69, July: 115-130

15.Kotler,P(1994)Marketing Management:Analysis,Planning,Implementation and Control(7th edn),Prentice Hall.

16.Kotler, P. & Lee, N., 2004.When it comes to gaining a market edge while supporting a social cause, ‘corporate social marketing’ leads the pack’. Stanford Social Innovation Review,

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17.Mitchell, A., Sikka, P., Willmott, H. (2001), “Policing knowledge by invoking the law: critical accounting and the politics of dissemination”, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 12 No.5, pp.527-55.

18.Peter A. Dacin (1997), “The Company and the Product:Corporate Associations and Consumer Product Responses,” Journal of Marketing, 61 (January), 68–84.

19.PICARD, A.J (2007) Research methods in information. pp. 85.

20.Peattie, K(1992). Green Marketing. London: Pitman Publishing

21.Peattie,K(1995). Environmental Marketing Management. Pitman Publishing, London.

22.Sen, Sankar and C. B. Bhattacharya (2001), “Does Doing Good Always Lead to Doing BetterConsumer Reactions to Corporate Social Responsibility,” Journal of Marketing Research, 38(2), 225-244

Appendix:

Green Products to be pre-tested for possible inclusion in survey:

1. Beverages

2. Dairy

3. Alcohol

4. Baked goods

5. Cigarettes

6. Convenience food

7. Meat, poultry and eggs

8. Canned Food

9. Tea

10. Oil

11. Condiment (seasoning)

12. Snacks

13. Health-care food

14. Sea food

15. Fruit and vegetable

16. Grain processing

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Developing a Marketing Strategy for Green Products in Chinese Food Companies. (2019, Apr 01). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/green-product-in-chinese-food-companies-and-prospects-for-the-development-of-a-marketing-strategy/

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