Flipping The Script with Dennis Weaver of The Organic Marketing Association
The reason organic food only occupies 5% market share despite being so delicious and sustainable must be because of the preachy and argumentative narrative surrounding it.
Today we speak to Dennis Weaver about the work he has been doing to introduce the mainstream consumer to the fun side of organic. Dennis is the Founder of Change Your Food, Change Your Life, Organic. Eat me., and the Co-Founder of The Organic Marketing Association. He has spent his life as an ambassador to the organic good food movement, but rather than using lectures or science, he simply puts a smile next to the word organic. Our conversation begins with Dennis sharing a lesson he learned early on about how restaurants ‘sell the sizzle, not the steak’. People go to restaurants for the experience, not the food per se, and for Dennis, if a message can be delivered entertainingly, people are far more likely to listen. He takes us through the various ways he has applied this philosophy to his organic activism through performance, music, and his radio show too. In the last part of our conversation, Dennis talks about his most recent project, The Organic Marketing Association, a non-profit union for all participants in the organic food industry whose aim is to help this community claim a larger market share.
So for a great conversation about how organic food can change the world and make people happier too, tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
How effective it is to sell the organic food narrative using entertainment as a device.
Introducing Dennis and his ideas about ‘selling the sizzle, not the steak.’
Founding the Organic Marketing Association and changing the narrative around organic food.
The work that Organic Marketing Association is doing to help organic brands make a bigger dent in the marketplace.
Dennis’s thoughts on the future of the organic industry and how it can move forward.
The story of how Dennis collaborated with different artists to make an album about organic food.
How Dennis founded the Change Your Food, Change Your Life radio show and the message it shares.
How Dennis fell in love with organic food and the work he does to advocate for it.
Plans Dennis has to drop two new singles that advocate for organic products.
The relationship Dennis developed with Pastor Gary Wyatt around organic food and the songs he wrote.
The organic food social media marketing Dennis is doing and how successful it has been.
How to join the Organic Marketing Association and why farmers get in for free.
Tweetables:
“I’m convinced that organic good food is the best for you, me, and the planet.” — @changeyourfood [0:03:38]
“We are leading the evolution in helping the organic industry to change its narrative from negative, disparaging, and argumentative to the fun and entertaining side of life.” — @changeyourfood [0:29:02]
“All we are doing is putting a smile next to the word organic. No lectures, no science, just a smile.” — @changeyourfood [0:39:42]
“The organic industry and its activists spend all their time complaining about what somebody else is doing and not talking about their own organic good food.” — @changeyourfood [0:50:06]
