Organic Industry, Trader Joes and Five Guys

So I neglected to post my mediated artifact discussion before break. Yet, the week of break proved enlightening in respect to my topic, the organic industrial complex that I displayed in class with a bottle of kombucha raw tea. In class, I showed how kombucha is marketed as a miracle drink, an elixir filled with things that sound alluring like “organic acids and aminos,” “electrolytes,” and “probiotics and detoxifiers.” My purpose was to show that organic brands can be just as misleading and overwhelming in their advertising as the traditional food giants like Nabisco, General Mills, etc.

Organic brands usually sell a lifestyle. They tend to associate themselves with active, toxic free living, whatever that means. Another common theme is a sort of American dream rags to riches story and a dream of bringing the gift of quality food to the masses. The kombucha bottle I brought in has one of these stories. “G.T. Dave began bottling kombucha in 1995 from his mother’s kitchen. He had no business plan, just a desire to share his gift with anybody who could benefit from it.” Organic brands also like to frequently point out that they are the little guys, even if this is not the case. The kombucha bottle illustrates this perfectly. “Although G.T.’s kombucha has grown from its humble beginnings, he remains committed to expanding the company gradually and organically, never sacrificing quality for the sake of profits.” This seems very nice and all and I don’t think it’s unfair for the company to advertise this way. However, upon closer inspection, the kombucha that I purchased is made by Millennium Products, INC in Beverly Hills, CA of all places. That doesn’t sound like G.T Dave to me. At best, this is misleading. The company behind the massively successful CLIF bars shares a similar story of pursuing the dream of a perfect granola bar that would provide energy for road biking adventures, doing so by crafting granola bars in mother’s kitchen. I find these stories very amusing actually. It’s amazing how consistent all these brands are.

I think I should note that why I am critical of their advertising, I thoroughly enjoy these products and often select them. I am in no way immune to their advertising either. I believe I am better informed than most but still not immune. I remember this when I fork out twice or thrice as much for a clif bar vs a nature valley bar. My wallet certainly doesn’t appreciate it but I definititely experience a certain placebo effect when I choose a product like a CLiF bar or a Naked juice instead of a candy bar or a soda. They make me feel better, more energetic, even if the actual results may be significantly less.

So I said that an extra week gave me insight towards the topic. Why, you may ask? Well, for the most part its because I arrived home to find that my mom has become a trader joe addict. Everywhere I looked, I was bombarded by another Trader Joe replacement to a product my family used to buy at Hannafords. Peanut butter, bread, meat, the freezer especially. My personal favorite, however, is the French artisan handsoap in the bathroom. That stuff smells really good. As you can tell, I enjoyed the change on the whole. Most of the Trader Joes products are delicious in my experience. However, Trader Joes is perhaps the pinnacle or mecca of the sort of little guy success stories I spoke of above. Quite frankly, a visit to Trader Joes can get a bit overwhelming. I went to Trader Joes with my mother over break and found it to be just that, overwhelming. There were just too many products that I wanted to buy. I could have spent the whole morning shopping. Why? Because their advertising is unrivaled. For the niche of shoppers they attract, their cute packaging and incessant use of the words “organic” and “natural” are deadly. No wonder they keep growing nationally.

The other enlightening thing I learned over bread has little to do with organic. However, it does involve food and a company that has been growing like weeds. I’m speaking, of course, of Five Guys. We have one in my hometown now. Its awesome.

Yay