Introduction

In Bangladesh, pickles are very popular as organic food. Preparation of pickles is an old art and a variety of these products are made in Bangladeshi homes. Pickling is the process by which fresh fruits and vegetables are preserved and with the addition of salt, chilly and spices, a tasty preparation known as "Pickles" is made. Pickles are also good appetizers and digestive agents. There are several varieties of pickles and they are consumed throughout the year by people from all walks of life. Unimaginable quantities of pickles are consumed round the year. On an average, each family consumes about 2 kgs .Of pickles every year. With addition of oil and water, fresh pickles can be made from these mixes. To ensure their long-term viability, organic farmers need to market their produce effectively. This may mean pursuing new markets or using different marketing strategies and is likely to require the development of new skills within the farming enterprise. Taking more control over the destiny of their produce can present some challenges to organic farmers, but it can also be financially and socially very rewarding. Many organic farmers link in to existing networks of organic wholesalers, exporters and processors. Others use the opportunity provided by their change to organic, to take on a completely different approach such as direct marketing to consumers. This fact sheet discusses some of the options for marketing of organic produce and poses some questions to be considered while developing marketing strategy.

Background
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods of organic farming -- that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Organic foods are also not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution. Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic food is food produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organizations.

Evidence on substantial differences between organic food and conventional food is insufficient to make claims that organic food is safer or healthier than conventional food. With respect to taste, the evidence is also insufficient to make scientific claims that organic food tastes better. For the vast majority of its history, agriculture can be described as having been organic; only during the 20th century was a large supply of new chemicals introduced to the food supply. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940s in response to the industrialization of agriculture known as the Green Revolution. For most Asian countries, agriculture plays a vital role to the national economy. Although Asia has a very active organic movement (around a quarter of IFOAM's 703 members are from Asia), the area under organic cultivation remains relatively small. Among the more significant countries producing organic products are China, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka as well as Israel. The total organic area in Asia is now just over 400,000 hectare (of which 75% is in China). This is comparable to Canada and France, but smaller than Germany, Italy or the USA. Table 1:Land under Organic Management and Number of Organic Farms in Asia

Source:

Local

Marketing

of

Organic

Products

Guide

for

SMEs

Just a few years ago, consumers who were fervent about eating locally-grown and organic foods had to head out to the nearest Whole Foods or farmers market. The boom in online grocery shopping has gone largely unnoticed by most consumers. That changes quickly; however, as entrepreneurial vendors spring up in new markets and word-of-mouth promotion attracts new shoppers. In interviews with ConsumerAffairs, Cambria Vaccaro, vice president of marketing for Coloradobased Door to Door Organicsm, said her company has grown more than 800 percent in the last four years and expects to exceed that growth rate as it opens new markets and more fully develops existing ones while RelayFoods president and co-founder Arnie Katz is equally bullish about his firm's prospects. A new study from KSC Kreate finds that more than half (52 percent) of grocery shoppers visit a store's web or mobile site prior to shopping; in addition one-third are using mobile devices while in-store. It's not a stretch to say those shoppers are one click away from moving the entire experience online. The 2013 Organic market report highlights key areas of growth in online retail, independent outlets and a shift towards younger consumers during 2012. The organic dairy sector, non-food and catering are also showing a positive uplift. The food service sector is opening up rapidly, supported by the Food for Life Catering Mark, where the organic range is in demand and growing. The report shows that many organic shoppers are looking beyond their supermarket shelves to find the organic choice and variety they want. This is backed up by our survey of the availability of organic which found that many people are struggling to find enough organic range.
The profit potential for a business that sells and delivers organically grown fruits and vegetables is outstanding, as the products can be marked up by 30 to 40 percent. This still let you undercut grocery stores and organic food retailers by 10 percent or more.

Objectives of the Study

1. Analyze current marketing scenario in organic food product market and organic farming 2. Assess the feasibility of developing an organic product; namely pickle 3. Assess the extent of its market expansion in terms of online marketing opportunities: comparing projected demand and supply. 4. Develop a complete online marketing plan of such a product: certifications, supply chain, production, promotion, pricing policy and selling and distribution policy. 5. Solicit scopes and limitations.

Methodology

To formulate online marketing strategy for a new product, we have to analyze current market scenario of similar articles. As the domestic organic food market of Bangladesh is primarily city based, we have decided to collect data from the consumers of Dhaka City with internet access. Data will be collected from occasional and full time (if available) consumers from the following websites: Bikroy.com, Clickbd.com, and Rokomari.com. We would also collect necessary information from secondary sources such as published articles and relevant web materials. The collected data will be analyzed and interpreted for future marketing reference. Descriptive statistics (i.e. frequency count, mean, percentage, and rank order, etc) and cross tabulations would be computed to identify trends. Based on the derived trend, the marketing module of the product; e.g. marketing strategy, branding pattern, distribution channels etc. will be fixed.
An online presence for farm and its products will increase the exposure to potential customers and is a valuable marketing tool. A farm web site and social media tools like Facebook and Twitter can be used cost-effectively to advertise products, tell story, attract customers and strengthen customer loyalty, as well as to seek and receive customer feedback.

In summary, the methodology can be summarized through the following flowchart:

Primary Source & Operation

Secondary Sources

Data Collection

Books and relevant articles

Data Analysis

Marketing Plan Development

Scopes of the study

The developed online marketing plan will try to shed some insight into the organic food product scenario in Bangladesh and analyze the feasibility of such industry. Also, it will assess possible marketing plans for our proposed specific venture and develop its complete strategy and scopes of expansion.

Limitations of the Study

The extent of organic food products in Bangladesh is very limited, and mostly is city-centric. Therefore, the plan developed for the product may be biased towards town-dwellers with internet access. Also, due to lack of historical evidence and existent rivals, the plan may seem to be not completely realistic or judged on every possible stake. It is a tentative proposition based on respondents feedback.

Project Proposal on Marketing plan of an Organic Food product: Pickle

Course Title: Marketing Theory & Practices Course Code: K - 502

Prepared for Shakil Huda Professor Institute of Business Administration (IBA) University of Dhaka

Prepared by ShabibRaihan Roll: 13 Md. Ashraful Islam Roll: 19 Salman HossainKhan Roll: 56 Batch: 48D

Institute of Business of Administration University of Dhaka

Date of Submission: 15 May, 2013