3 questions for … Johannes Ehrnsperger

Lammsbräu has managed to combine the traditional with the modern. How can this balancing act be transposed to the organic sector to appeal to the general public?

The basis for this is, first and foremost, product quality. Nowadays, nobody is prepared to buy a product that doesn’t taste good just to be sustainable. We also need to win people over with messages that reflect their everyday life. In this context, we also need to highlight the benefit for them as individuals. So not just communicating about the altruistic aspects along the lines of “You’re doing something good for the world”, but also: “You’re doing something good for yourself.” I think that this still presents a challenge for us in the organic sector. We’re not very good at that yet.

Storytelling – what stories does the organic sector need?

We need stories that appeal on an emotional level. We also need to manage to communicate our added value without lecturing people. Ideally, in an inspiring and engaging way, and not as ponderously as we have often done in the past. We need to create a connection with the things that matter to people in their everyday lives. For example, by going to places where people can encounter organic products that they haven’t been used to seeing there before, such as a football stadium.

What issues can the organic sector expect to be dealing with in the next few years?

The biggest challenge is that in the organic sector, we still don’t have a level playing field with conventional products. We continue to rely on our customers’ willingness to pay extra for something of high quality. When consumers are on a tight budget, it is difficult to communicate these things in a way that ensures this willingness to pay more. And if we take the alternative approach and make our products cheaper, we will not stay true to our values. I believe the greatest challenge is to reconcile both these aspects. Ultimately, this is also a job for policymakers. However, as players in the organic sector, we also need to make suggestions about what a level playing field could look like. I think this is a task that we must work on together.