I recently read an article in Crain’s Chicago Business entitled “Organic options losing steam.” (Crain’s 10-23-06) It says that few shoppers are willing to pay the higher prices for organic versions of mainstream foods.

By “mainstream” foods, they evidently mean what most organic consumers—and many others —might call “junk food” or possibly “dorm food.” (Yes, I say this without any extensive market research to back it up.) A primary example given is that people aren’t swooping a big-name brand of organic macaroni and cheese off the shelves at $2.29 a box when the non-organic version is 99 cents.

Is this really surprising? Are organic consumers looking for neon-orange, refined white flour mac and cheese? Are “mainstream” consumers looking for an organic seal on this type of food? It seems out of sync with some main drivers of organics: health (that of your body, your family, a regional economy, or even the planet). What’s next? News that people are not willing to pay $15 for an organic Big Mac^® and fries!?

Just a good reminder of a communication design basic: know your audience. Know what they care about, what they are looking for in products they buy, why they buy them, etc.