NATIONAL FAIR TRADE CONFERENCE

PLEASANTLY PERSISTENT

AUTHOR: Larissa Kanhai

​Today a friend asked with surprise if my conference wasn’t cancelled?  To this I replied, “Are you kidding?  We’re grassroots, we’re like weeds and we’re NOT going anywhere!”
Turns out this pervasive and persistent approach is a legitimate marketing strategy for fair trade!  At its very core, marketing is an inherent pillar to the work we do in the fair trade movement – only through increased demand will such an alternative system of trade be effective.  But most of the time we feel like we’re preaching to the choir.  John Marron of Fairtrade Canada, Ahmed Nassrat from JustUs, Giada Simone of Yupik, and Frank Sarro of Community Natural Foods addressed how to engage retailers to get products on the shelf. 
Here are some key messages and tips to offer to retailers:

1. Fair trade is an area of market growth, it is no longer a niche area – 1/3 consumers are familiar with the fair trade logo and 50% of Canadians say that fair trade reflects their ethical values.
2. While only 16% of sustainability marketed products are the actual market share, they are in fact responsible for over half of market growth.
3. Fair trade is projected for positive future growth as a part of a growing ethical consumer market segment.
4. There are opportunities around Fair Trade Month (May) – free point of sale kits.
5. Shift the power.  Retailers will listen to what people want so encourage customers to e-mail Sobeys to ask for a product.  This may have more impact than advocates internally pushing for fair trade through traditional channels.
6. Stress the local element wherever possible, retailers are interested in this.
7. Stress food safety wherever possible, retailers will listen to this.
8. Differentiation.  Offer a story of what will make the retailer different.
9. Pester power – consumers advocating creatively and persistently will have an impact.
10. Storytelling is challenging at point-of-sale but can be done through social media and engagement/training of store workers.
11. Shrink the distance from product to person.  Create the sense of coming to a farmer’s market.
12. Demos and all kinds of engagement are crucial to create a relationship with the final consumer.