Who Came First? The Egg or the Carton? An Analysis of Organic Packaging for Italian Retail Chain Esselunga - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 115

according to Neuman ( 1997 ) this technique is a non-intrusive method to derive
significant findings. He notes that, “the 'content' refers to words, meanings, pictures,
symbols, ideas, themes, or any message that can be communicated. The 'text' is
anything written, visual, or spoken that serves as a medium for communication”
(pp. 272-273). The following items were collected and analyzed in the study: (1)
textual material gathered from the website of the company about organic products,
sustainability initiatives, partnerships to save endangered species and recycling
programs; (2) product packaging of organic products including egg cartons; and (3)
informational food material found in the store to inform customers about products.
These items were collected at different stores, in different cities and regions in Italy,
including the regions of Sardinia, Tuscany, Lazio, and Emilia Romagna.

6.5 How Esselunga Packages Organic Products

In recent years a proliferation of foods that appear to bring health and safety
benefits has rapidly created a need for retail chains such as Esselunga to embrace
the organic movement and develop marketing campaigns designed to meet the
consumer's demand and new food information (Libery and Kneafsey 1998 ; Richter
et al. 2000 ; Brunori et al. 2008 ). The role of Esselunga in organic marketing,
illustrates its commitment to organic food or original approach to marketing organic
food (Richter et al. 2000 , p. 1). The company website states its commitment to
ecological causes, including details on several initiatives supported by the company
and a section devoted exclusively to defining food labeling and 'organic' according
to the European and Italian government standards (Esselunga 2010 ). In this way,
the company defines itself as a socially responsible company utilizing materials
that have a low impact on the environment (e.g., green buildings, usage of recycle
packages, educative programs for customers, partnerships with humanitarian and
animal rights organizations, organic and eco-friendly line) and serving as a channel
to advance the cause of the environmental movement by empowering the consumer
to choose products that make a difference. The store, in fact, offers more than
200 organic products ranging from fresh goods (vegetable and fruit) to more
convenience products such as ketchup, pizza, pre-cooked and frozen goods, and
soda (Richter et al. 2000 ).
To allow the customer to choose among other competing products, organic items
are allocated among conventional goods, hence in the sauce section organic and non-
organic tomato jars are placed next to each other. This distribution policy follows
a particular communication strategy. In order to not only empower the customer
but also to retain customers “who will revert to conventional products” (Richter
et al. 2000 , p. 4) organic items must differentiate themselves and pop out. This
differentiation is done with packaging and food labeling appealing to the emotive
element of the consumer (Asioli et al. 2011 ). In this way, the store capitalizes on
its organic commitment, by alluding to the improvement of the consumer and the
environment. As Smith ( 1998 ) points out, what can happen is that “individuals