The meaning of organic food for modern trade consumers in Bangkok and its role in adopting a healthy diet. Read the full case study on our website: http://www.teakresearch.com/organic-food.html

1. Organic Food
Consumption among
Thai Modern Trade
Consumers
The meaning of organic food for modern trade consumers
in Bangkok and its role in adopting a healthy diet
Words by Sawyer J. Lahr
New Years, 2017
Disclaimer: All photos and quotes are derived from fieldwork or submitted by
participants. All quotations are verbatim - word-for-word.

2. Project Scope
In early 2015, we at Teak Research Co. Ltd., partnered with TCDC and TOP Organic, a subsidiary
company of Capital Rice, a major exporter of Thai rice in Thailand, to conduct a design research
study about Organic Food and Snack consumption among Thai modern trade consumers in
Bangkok. We recruited 10 participants who purchase organic food products to join in-home or
shop-along interviews with a mix of household composition and gender. Seven of the total 20
research participants were customers of the client’s Tai Tai organic rice brand.
| 2New Year | 2017 | 2

3. In the past, I lived my life very poorly. I ate whatever I wanted
until one day my back hurt so badly, so much so that the doctor
said I was very overweight and I had a herniated disc. The doctor
said I might be paralyzed. - Nuttanan (42 yrs)
“
Thai modern trade organic food consumers in Bangkok seek out
organic products as part of a path toward adopting a healthy diet, not
because of concern for the environment. In fact, the meaning "organic"
changes depending on the context consumers are discussing it in.
Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
New Year | 2017 | 3

4. We used the 5E experience model, a consumer journey mapping tool
we share with our partnering firm, Conifer Research in Chicago to
define a five-fold consumer journey to adopting a healthy diet:
Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
| 4
Entice
Commit
to eating healthier and
being self-disciplined
Factors:
Upbringing, family
history, health conditions
and healthy eating trends
influence how people
prioritize a healthy diet in
their lives.
Enter
Gather
information about
healthy eating
Factors:
Multiple streams of
information both official
and unofficial sources
influence people’s points
of view of healthy food as
they navigate among
myths, beliefs and facts.
Engage
Apply
to lifestyle and weigh
costs vs. benefits
Factors:
Availability, accessibility,
convenience, social
norms, limited time, and
taste preference
challenge and
sometimes deter people
from adopting a healthy
diet as a regular routine.
Exit
Balance
personal needs to
responsibility to family
Factors:
Enforcing, disciplining,
and adjusting to taste
preferences are among
some ways people
influence their family
members to adopt
healthy eating habits.
Extend
Set Example
for others and continue
improving
Factors:
Contentment in
practicing good eating
habits and pride in
healthy food choices
drive people to share
their knowledge and
experience and
encourage others to adopt
healthy habits.
New Year | 2017 | 4

5. Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
Consumers “commit” to healthy eating due to health risk factors, desire
for their children to have good health, not wanting their own health to
be a burden on their children, threat of urgent health issues, or
exposure to healthy eating and organic agricultural practices.
In the past, I lived my life very poorly. I ate
whatever I wanted until one day my back hurt so
badly, so much so that the doctor said I was very
overweight and I had a herniated disc. The doctor said
I might be paralyzed. - Nuttanan (42 yrs)
“
New Year | 2017 | 5

6. Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
Consumers “gather” information from healthy authorities like doctors
or trusted sources like friends, news media, YouTube, health-related
articles, parenting-related media, posts on social media,
word-of-mouth, and information on product packaging.
You have to read a lot. I’ve been reading “Mother and
Child” since I was pregnant. - Pattrayu (26 yrs)
“I saw this book written by a professor who got
cancer and I felt that in the future I don't want to get
sick and I should start paying attention to my health
more. I came across the term "natural food" and I got
interested. - Chanchai (36 yrs)
“
New Year | 2017 | 6

7. Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
Consumers “apply” themselves by avoiding unhealthy foods, taking a
cheat day, learning to cook to reduce the cost of eating healthy, cooking
at home to control what they eat, eating healthy as an example their
children, and buying food that is healthy for their children.
I don’t just eat for my health anymore. I eat healthy
food because it’s delicious. I eat it because I’m used it.
Eating good food is like eating gold.
- Suparada (48 yrs)
“
New Year | 2017 | 7

8. Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
Consumers try to strike a “balance” by turning family members into
followers of their healthy diet, requiring children and spouses to eat
healthy with them, cooking dishes that make vegetables taste better for
children, and reminding family members not to eat junk foods.
Eating good food without any bad chemicals that
has the greatest benefit, I really want my family and
everyone in the world to know there is food like this. I
want everyone to have good health.
- Chanachai (36 yrs)
“
New Year | 2017 | 8

9. Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
Consumers set a example for others by inviting close friends with the
same medical condition to go see their doctor, exchanging suggestions
of where to eat healthy food, showing other parents how they take care
of their children’s health, and advocating colleagues to eat healthy.
There’s a group for women with people are patients
of Bangkok hospital who are getting their knees
treated and children with obesity. I decided to join the
group so I could share good restaurants.
- Nuttanun (42 yrs)
“
New Year | 2017 | 9

10. Because Thai modern trade consumers buy organic products as a
result of health concerns, we recommend that the TOP Organic brand
should position their brand as a producer of healthy foods, with
organic products as a subset of healthy products.
Organic Food Consumption among Thai Modern Trade Consumers
New Year | 2017 | 10