or avoiding the use of machinery cannot be realized in practice. A great
majority of the indicated issues for ideal vegetable production were, how-
ever, perfectly feasible in practice.
Concerns about the use the pesticides confirm the findings of previ-
ous research by Dittus and Hillers (1993, 1996). Their consumer research
about pesticide use in vegetable production led to the conclusions that
concerns dealt with residue effects on both personal health and the en-
vironment. They also revealed that concerns about pesticide residues on
vegetables might confound appreciation of the nutritional merit of these
foods. In our survey, concerns about pesticide were emphasized, which
indicates that these practices should be approached with caution. Any
technological improvement within the vegetable chain should be com-
municated to the consumer.
Several topics related to the production process of vegetables in glass,
such as sowing seeds by children and manual removal of weeds, are not
practical. However, these suggestions provide important topics for com-
munication with consumers.
IQM and Communication
A communication plan typically includes the following elements
(Kotler & Armstrong, 1991):
- identification of the target audience and quantitative objectives in
terms of market share - formulation of the message (content, structure, format)
- choice of the media (promotion above-below the line)
- definition of the source, namely, who is sending the message
- collection of feedback
Once the elements of the communication plan are determined, the de-
veloped communication concept must be tested (e.g., through indepth
interviews). Through this test it is verified whether or not the message
is understood and if the medium and source are accepted, liked and trust-
worthy.
Related to the stipulated objective, two approaches of IQM and com-
munication can be advanced. It is important to mention that the discus-
sion focuses on the way the consumer perceives IQM and more
specifically the way vegetables are processed. For companies willing to
defend their status as market leader or premium brand, the whole con-
cept of IQM focuses on providing the “the ideal product” as a kind of