01/19/07 Under-Served Markets

Under-Served Markets. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. A newly released report on trends involving consumer packaged goods identifies families with young children, the Hispanic population, and lower-income households as under-served markets holding the most potential for high growth. Oregon can help reach those segments, according to Dalton Hobbs, assistant director with the Oregon Department of Agriculture: HOBBS: I think that these results are very important and instructive for Oregon agriculture and the food processing industry and, indeed, retailers- and ones that should point the way for new strategies and new product ideas. The report suggests that families with young children make fewer trips to the store but tend to spend more per trip than the average consumer. Convenience foods are important and Oregon processors should take that into account: HOBBS: More commodity kinds of products that would be shelf stable and would be easy to prepare and would be less time consuming in terms of getting the meal on the table for people to eat. Hobbs says the Hispanic community is the fastest growing consumer group in Oregon and many producers and processors are developing products that are specific to the tastes of that group. Lower-income households rely on value and tend to shop more at the big value stores like Wal-Mart and Winco. That means Oregon companies need to look at a wide range of potential markets, not just the high end niche retailers. Hobbs says Oregon producers and processors need to serve a wide range of consumers, according to this report: HOBBS: In some cases that would mean a super premium, ultra-niche product- you think about Oregon wines, for instance. In other cases, we have an important opportunity to sell and provide products for mass retailers- the Wal-Marts, the Costcos, and Wincos and so on. Hobbs says the Oregon Department of Agriculture will work with producers and processors to find appropriate and meaningful markets for their products: HOBBS: Clearly, this survey and study points out the importance of looking at all aspects of the marketplace- not just the trendy or the chic or upscale, but also taking a look at these opportunities that exist throughout the range of the marketplace. You can check out this and many more stories concerning agriculture like the American Rancher, Market Line, Fruit Grower Report and the Northwest Report on our website at www.aginfo.net. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.