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The
aspect that impressed me the most was this group had diversified into
other areas of agriculture production. They had been only pursuing
vegetable and rabbit production. Since then they have expanded into
coffee, honey and chocolate (or what we would know as cocoa). The
leaders of this group recognized, if they limited their production and
marketing efforts to select commodities, they would limit their
membership and commodities, thereby limiting potential markets and
clientele. Therefore, diversification and marketing were the keys to
their continued success and potential expansion.
From
the picture with this article, you can see what they have done with
their variety of products and labeling. Last time I was there product
containers, labeling and cooperative identity were valid concerns. The
picture speaks for itself on the progress made.
My
question is, "Why can’t we do something like this in the
U.S.?"
We
are a technology-advanced, educated, civilized society;
and yet, as agriculture producers, we face challenges working together
to market our products! For some unknown reason agriculture producers
have difficulty uniting in some capacity as a cooperative. Sure there
are the occasional cooperatives that make a "go of it," but,
historically, producer cooperatives do not survive. Buyer cooperatives
(i.e. the Alabama Farmers Cooperative) tend to be more successful than
marketing cooperatives.
Case
in point, the goat industry (within Alabama and U.S.) has become more
fragmented in the past few years. I have been a part of this industry
for eight years, and in the past year or two I have seen the goat
industry within Alabama and throughout the U.S. struggle to |
You will notice the use
of colorful labeling to promote visual appeal while providing needed information, including ingredients and nutritional value. The chocolate is even promoted as delicious and full of vitamins. |
