SEGMENTATION OF THE ORGANIC MARKET IN UKRAINE BASED ON THE RESULTS OF MARKET RESEARCH

Abstract

Social, political and economic challenges, and in our case, the state of war, the increase in the need for market research to assess the risks and opportunities of the organic market. Segmentation as a type of marketing research allows a deeper analysis of the target audience, focusing on customer needs, finding points of tension and offering marketing tools to influence a consumer behaviour in a particular segment. In the 2010s, the share of organic sales on the Ukrainian domestic market did not exceed 1%. The buyers of such products were people with high incomes who cared about their health and were aware of the benefits of organic food. The majority of consumers were educated people, young families with children, and urban residents. Among the main motivations for consumption, Ukrainians named health benefits (27%), the taste of a natural product (16%), following the example of friends or relatives (13%), and belonging to a healthy lifestyle (11%). As of 2023, the share of organic products sold on the domestic market is no more than 5% of the total amount of organic products produced. Compared to the pre-war period, the issue of the price factor has increased and may increase over the time. There has been a decline in the high-income audience and an increase or shift to an audience focused on healthy lifestyles with an average income. At the same time, the share of low-income audiences has increased, coupled with distrust and misunderstanding of organic products. Based on the research, the target audience can be divided into the following types: «Saving», «Caring for health», «Trusting opinion leaders», «All the best», «Minimum effort», «Lovers of tasty food», «Conscious parenthood», «Demanding». The most common types of target audience are those focused on family care (46%) and financially sensitive (35%). The reputational profile of the segments includes active sympathisers, passive sympathisers, active neutrals, passive neutrals and sceptics. Consequently, the main factors that influence the segmentation of the organic products audience are income level and healthy lifestyle practices. This is the category of customers that should be targeted while developing marketing communications.