Every weekend my wife Rebecca and I take a walk around the savannah and end it with coconut water. My vendor is like most vendors. He doesn’t have a name and he follows instructions. In chatting with him I learnt that coconut vendors are involved in every stage of their business. They pick the coconuts, sell them and then cart off the shells themselves to the dump. They are so busy manufacturing, they have not had the time to market.
Can you imagine if every time you went to your favourite coconut watering hole, you were told where the day’s catch came from and the type of coconut. Would that not enhance the experience? And how about being offered some bottled branded coconut water to take home with you?
Part of the appeal of having coconut water at the side of the street is that it’s “comfort food”. It’s one of the few things that have not changed. (Except the price of course) It’s still possible to add value to that experience by telling a story about your brand of coconuts and packaging some for takeaway.
