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FEB 2017
FOOD FOCUS THAILAND
SPECIAL
FOCUS
HighPotential NicheMarket
LGBTarewell-earning. Information fromExperian InformationSolutions Inc.
reveals that income per capita of male LGBT consumers in theUS is USD
800 higher than the average income per capita of heterosexual male
population. The average household income of LGBT family (male-male) is
alsoUSD13,400higher thanheterosexual couple.Meanwhile,mostofLGBT
families have no children, so they do not have to save for child care, which
makes them fall under theDINK (Double Income,NoKids) category.Having
the high spending power is the reason why LGBT are a nichemarket with
great potential.
InterestingSpendingHabitsof LGBT
• They like to spendmoney on goods that boost their looks. LGBTare
looking for premiumquality products, whichmeans they arealso looking for
productswith good images and quality.
• They are likely choosing products that are LGBT friendly such as
Coca-Cola, Pepsi, GAP, Google, Nike and Levi’s. HumanRightsCampaign
(HRC),anorganizationwhichfights forLGBT rights,hasconducted research
with various enterprises on how they treat LGBTworkers, as well as rated
and listedLGBT friendlycompanies.Userscandownload this list fromwww.
hrc.org, or viasmartphoneapplication tocheckwhichproductsandservices
areprovidedbyLGBT friendlycompaniesbeforemakingpurchases.Moreover,
manycompaniesstarteddecorating theirproductswith rainbowflag tosignify
their support for LGBT, or launchinganewproduct lineespecially for LGBT.
• Theyarekeen topay for goodsandservices related toentertainment,
technology, beauty, tourism, cuisine and home renovation. After several
countries allow same-sex marriage, many LGBT decided to start a family.
Hence,products forwedding,giftware,decorationsand furniturehavegained
increasing popularity from LGBT.
• Theyhavepets to relieve loneliness.AsmanyLGBTdonot havekids,
they decided to devote all the love to their pets. Popular pets are including
dogs, cats, fish, rabbits and birds.
BusinessOpportunities for Entrepreneurs
From the mentioned behaviors, interesting businesses for LGBT market
should be related to pets, clothing and accessories, lifestyle, beauty,
technology and tourism. These days, there are many countries arranging
events to attract LGBT tourists who have high purchasing power and
eagerness to spend money on above quality products and
services. Canada, for example, hosted a big parade
for LGBT in Toronto on July 1
st
each year,
which isahugesuccess in termsof
v i s i t o r s ’ numbe r .
Meanwh i l e,
…UndeniableNicheMarket
LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, andTransgender) or gender diverse
peopleareamong thegreatestpotentialandmostwatchedconsumers.
According tospeculationbyLGBTCapital (afinancial consultant first
whoseconsumersareessentiallyLGBT), thereareapproximately450
millionLGBTacross theglobe.Thenumbermayseemsmallcompared
to7,300millionglobal population, but thegroupearnsup toUSD3.7
trillion annually. This iswhy product and service providers believe in
the potential of LGBT consumers, and eagerly try to expand their
goods topenetrate thismarket.
Japanalso listsLGBT friendlyhotels inTokyoandKyoto in itsNationalTourism
Organizationwebsite, and cooperatewith templesandhotels toarrange for
LGBTmarriages. Thailand is considered LGBT friendly by LGBTCapital in
August 2015, and each year it earns around USD 4.6 billion or more than
10% from LGBT tourists.
Consideration inPerusingLGBTMarket
Business enterprisesmust study excessively about demands and tastes of
LGBTconsumersbeforemarketing theirproducts.LGBTarehighlydiversified,
particularly in termsof race,gender,andage.Furthermore, youshouldavoid
using words and advertising concepts that are sensitive to LGBT. On the
otherhand, if thecompaniesare togostrongly forLGBTsupport, theyshould
also consider negative effects that could occur from anti-LGBT consumers,
too.
LessonsLearnedonHow toAccessLGBTMarket
In San FranciscoGay Pride 2014, one of the biggest gay parade on earth,
BurgerKing released its limitededitionburgercalled “proudwhopper”,which
is a burger wrapped in rainbow paper. To everyone’s surprise, the burger is
nothingdifferent from theusual burger, but it proves itspointwithamessage
written inside says “we are all the same inside.”
LGBT friendly bottle design byAbsolut Vodka also attracts gaymarket.
Having launched its rainbow bottle product in 2008, the product was a hit
among gays. However Absolut Vodka met with unpopularity at in the first
phase bymany anti-LGBT consumers.
Nevertheless, revising packages is not the only way to penetrate this
market. If the brands can express their LGBT friendly character, either by
sending messages, equality images for LGBT and non-LGBT, as well as
community support, to name a few, good attitude can be created among its
LGBTconsumers.Restassuredonvivavoce,LGBTarevery loyalconsumers.
Heinekenprovessuccessfulword-of-mouthmethodafter it haspromoted its
beer via Facebook. Marriott hotel also uses transgender male in its
commercial, while Lucky Charm cereal sends its messages to its LGBT
consumers. Hence, inorder toposition yourself for LGBTmarket, youneed
to focusonpromotionandpublic relationsviasocialmedianetwork,
which has become very influential among LGBT.
