Marketing Compost (EAWAG) - The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Once the business relationship with the distribution company is established,
Waste Concern requires no further marketing. Map Agro is confident
that it can sell up to ten times the present volume of compost purchased
from Waste Concern. This is an indication of the scale of the
compost market and the effectiveness of this arrangement. Using a wellestablished
agricultural outlet also lends credibility to compost as an agricultural
product, as it positions it among ‘modern’ chemical fertilisers, positively
perceived by many farmers.
No transport, distribution or sales infrastructure is required by Waste
Concern (e. g. lorries, regional sales points etc.). Alpha Industries distributes
the compost up to 620 km from Dhaka, using their existing transport
and sales infrastructure. These factors allow Waste Concern to pursue
what it does best, i. e. composting. In Bangladesh, this is turning into
a successful model that other NGOs may be wise to follow.
Rytz, 2001 and Ali, 2004
Try to plan your distribution methods to be as efficient as possible in terms
of investment, time and labour. Review the profitability of different channels
from time to time, as well as their convenience to customers. Could you learn
anything from your competitors or even collaborate with them in distribution
Good relations with retailers in Pakistan
A composting plant in Lahore uses retailers to distribute and sell compost.
As the retailers are in regular contact with farmers, they can inform
the producer of emerging needs and trends in agriculture. This enables
compost producers to respond by developing products better suited to
the market and thus to generate more business for retailers. Everyone is
a winner.
Ul Haq, 2006
Marketing Compost—Product, positioning and location 69