Hi everyone,
My approach to the organic issue, especially the marketing aspect, is very 
similar to Roy's.  I think it would do us good to be a little more 
realistic, though.  I don't think it's cynicism to say that consumers, 
especially in our suburban society, are shallow and ignorant.  What do they 
know about beekeeping?  What do they know about farming?  I don't think 
they're in any position to judge our organic/pseudo-organic standards.  I'd 
like to think they can trust us and learn from us, and I believe in face-to-
face business models, but these aren't things that build a bottom line.  I 
trust that your standards have integrity, Roy, but I think you could make 
just as much money and more if you forgot about the kind of integrity that 
your customers don't understand anyway and just focused on the fluff and 
buzzwords.  Of course, I'm not defending that way of doing things, but I 
think those aspects are what make the bottom line.  So I have a hard time 
believing that "quality will always win" or that what's paying off is 
education.  Try selling "quality" and "education" without the feel-good 
images and decorative jars, and I think you'll find that the feel-good 
images and decorative jars are subsidizing your quality.  The beekeepers I 
know who do things most organically do so because they believe in it, often 
without profiting from their organic standards one bit.  I have yet to find 
any way to convey my organic standards in a way that makes me any more 
money than the guy that's just throwing around empty buzzwords and dressing 
things up.  Even so, I'm plenty happy with my bottom line.  It would be 
nice to believe in an inherent market advantage for genuine quality/organic 
standards, but I don't see it.
Eric

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