Market analysis, consumer surveys and production advances all point to strong marketing potential for CLA products, says Yulian Ding.
Consumer studies have indicated there is a strong interest and a willingness to pay a premium for CLA-enriched products, says Yulian Ding of the University of Alberta.
This is a key result of work by the CLA Network's marketing module, says Ding, who provided an update on module progress at the CLA Summit 2007 conference. "We've done a lot to gain an initial understanding of the marketing prospects for CLA," says Ding. "The results so far have been encouraging. They have also provided insights that can support marketing strategies for CLA-related dairy and beef products."
To assist in the development of strategies for developing and marketing CLA-enriched dairy and beef products, researchers conducted a study to identify what can be learned from the example of omega-3 eggs.
"The study identified potential for CLA-enriched products to enjoy similar success to omega-3 eggs," says Ding. The key is to address consumers' health concerns, by creating a brand that meets consumers' perceptions about healthy products, she says. Health information on labels and for retail display purposes would provide a key support.
Two major consumer surveys were conducted by the marketing module, to uncover new knowledge of consumer attitudes toward potential CLA enriched dairy and beef products. The surveys were designed to provide a benchmark of attitudes and to identify key factors that may help determine consumers' acceptance of these products.
This effort included a dairy survey conducted by telephone with more than 800 respondents in Alberta and British Columbia, as well as a beef survey conducted in store with over 800 consumers in Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto and Quebec City.
"Our consumer surveys have indicated not only strong interest, but also a willingness to pay a premium for CLA-enriched products," says Ding.
In both surveys, respondents were provided with summary information on CLA and its links to health benefits.
In the dairy survey, respondents estimated that CLA-enriched milk was worth $0.39 more per litre than the price of regular milk – an average of 35.5 percent more than the base price.
In the beef survey, respondents also showed a strong willingness to pay a premium for products with a label denoting high CLA content. Compared to the price of normal beef products, this included a willingness to pay an additional $2.83/ kg to $2.96/kg for a product with a "CLA-enhanced" label and an additional $3.29/kg to $3.97/kg for a product with a "Rich in CLA" label.
Both surveys also harvested broad information that will be used to help determine what product development and marketing approaches for CLA are likely to be most successful.
The marketing module has driven progress on several other fronts to support the development of CLA products within two key streams – enriched products within a normal range of variation, as well as enriched products with higher CLA levels than a normal range that may require "novel food" regulatory approval.
Among recent examples, the module has worked with regulatory bodies to prepare for new CLA enriched products. It has also assisted in the dairy module to produce milk with specific amounts of CLA, which can be processed to generate products, such as CLA-enhanced butter oil. In addition, the module is working with a range of partners to bring new CLA-enhanced products to the market. The most advanced of these efforts is a project with an Alberta-based dairy operation to develop and market CLA-enhanced yogurt.
Reprintable with credit. Individual articles in the Report on CLA Summit 2007 are available for reprint, with acknowledgement of the source: The CLA Network. For broader reprint requests or reprint assistance contact the CLA Network at CLAnetwork@gov.ab.ca.
