Bringing coir products under a single brand was the way forward for the coir industry in the State, according to John Nicholas Hahn, an expert in commodity branding and marketing.
Leading an international seminar organised as part of Coir Kerala 2015 here, Mr. Hahn said the opportunity for branding coir products from a region that produced quality fibre was immense. He was of the view that the activities of the Coir Board had put in place the infrastructure required for branding in the sector. A dynamic branding programme will transform the State into the preferred source of coconut fibres worldwide, he said.
He proposed emulating the success achieved by New Zealand through cross branding of products. “The country has a system of branding its products under the logo of the silver fern leaf, which currently was a symbol of high quality products.
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In addition, New Zealand has created an agri-business model that could be replicated in Asia.
The country has become a market leader by meeting demand and investing in research and development to improve value-added products. Cross-branding has resulted in collective promotion for such products from the region,” he said.
Carlo Santulli, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Design, University of Camerino, Italy, delivered a talk on engineering eco-friendly plant composites as replacements for synthetic materials. He pointed out that plant fibres could be mixed with bio-plastic to create materials with new properties.
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