Spending over $300+ billion dollars annually, the demographic called LOHAS, continues to change the way marketers conceptualize the 4 P's of marketing. LOHAS is Lifestyles of health and sustainability. The consumer group identifying themselves with LOHAS are a megatrend not to be overlooked or taken for granted. Consumers have traditionally expected governments to take the lead in protecting the environment, but now they are looking more to the corporate world to take action, rather than individuals. Increasingly, Asians want economic growth but believe it should be achieved through greener industry Market research conducted in 2010 revealed an untapped multi-billion dollar demand from households with significant purchasing power that relates to exactly this. THE LOHAS Asia and NMI research on China, for example, questioned 1,000 consumers across the five cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Results showed that 88% agreed that it is important for companies to be mindful of their impact on society. With China having overtaken Japan as the world’s second-biggest economy, the LOHAS consumer demand is on the rise month by month and there is an urgency for the market to respond. Asia isn’t regarded as a pioneer on the CSR front, but in recent years, action on CSR is growing amongst Asian firms. In Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, and more recently Singapore and Thailand, stock exchanges are playing an increasing role in raising the visibility of businesses and encouraging reporting on sustainability. However, despite years of education on the issue, businesses across Asia still carry the common misperceptions of CSR being equivalent to philanthropy, which is what you do with your profits while CSR is what how you go about making those profits. Given the real concern from knowledgeable consumers, this also means companies have to deliver more than just lip-service and stand true to what they claim. Governments are also helping to develop CSR practices, such as in Singapore with the Green Mark Scheme for buildings as a key initiative to promote sustainability in the building sector. The Singapore Government is also pursuing sustainable fashion as another sector, and launching new subsidies for industry training.
 
Results of LOHAS Market Research 2010
In January 2010 LOHAS Asia partnered with The Natural Marketing Institute in pioneering LOHAS Consumer Research in Asia-Pacific, conducting an online survey across 10 countries. More than 18,000 consumers were surveyed, to provide in-depth research on the LOHAS consumer and marketplace across the following countries: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Some of the highlights show very real desire for sustainably-made products in Asia, with Indonesia, China and India leading the way. As always, we have to look closely at China and India as the biggest market opportunities, and here we have high numbers seeking sustainably-manufactured products. This is a clear message and opportunity to manufacturers but even more encouraging, they will buy them if they are more available and most are willing to pay a 20% price premium for them. By contrast, there are significantly fewer consumers willing to pay a 20% premium in Korea, Singapore and Australia. But, these are rich economies, so the market opportunity per share point is higher and worth chasing. In one of the clearest messages from this research, consumers in Asia-Pacific are prepared to boycott brands they feel are over-packaged. This behaviour contrasts with experience in other markets in the West, where the likelihood of over-packaging actually damaging purchases is low. This is an area where the biggest markets show the most extreme reaction to the question, with China, Indonesia and India leading the way with a strong likelihood to boycott over-packaged brands.

In April 2010, LOHAS Asia Pte. Ltd launched The HUB, a business network for companies and service providers in tune with LOHASian values to network, market and collaborate in new opportunities and joint-ventures.

Contributed by Liz Smailes, Communications Director, Asia Pacific LOHAS