The Paradigm Shift in Natural Essences

By Terry Johnson, Chairman Essential Oil Standards International Committee (SEOS)

"In a time of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists.”  Eric Hoffer

It was Thomas Kuhn who first defined the term “paradigm shift” as the phenomenon where one conceptual world view is replaced by another.
In other words, it describes a major shift from one way of thinking to another– a transformation that doesn’t “just happen” but is driven by Agents of Change.
Anyone carefully examining the significance of our current market dynamics should reasonably conclude that the market for Natural Essences is certainly in the midst of a transformation, suggesting a paradigm shift could indeed be well underway.
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And what are the Agents of Change for Natural Essences?
The first Agent of Change involves retailers and consumers increasingly looking for assurances regarding environmental sustainability and social responsibility in the practices employed in the production and handling of Natural Essences. As with many other products, retailers and consumers want to purchase Natural Essences they can trust and have confidence in.
The second Agent of Change is the fact that the pandemic has focused consumers on their health and well-being at transformational levels, noticeably affecting consumer purchasing behaviors. This shift has created unprecedented potential opportunities for the Natural Essence Community to attract millions of new consumers who are becoming more aware of and very receptive to the many benefits for their well-being from sustainable, High-Value Natural Essences.
Opportunities, however, do not happen automatically, and three factors must be considered before the Natural Essence Community can benefit from these profound changes:

Highest Standards                                                                      
To gain and keep consumer trust and confidence, the Natural Essence Community must commit to having the highest standards possible. Adopting Sustainable Essential Oil Standards (SEOS) can be one of the key catalysts propelling us forward towards this paradigm shift.

Highest Quality                                                                                   
No consumer should expect superior performance from Natural Essences that are not superior products to begin with. Sourcing and purchasing of High-Value raw materials and sustainable packaging, therefore, is vital in achieving future market successes.

Highest Understanding                                                                                
The quote by Eric Hoffer above highlights the importance of developing superior knowledge and understanding of post-pandemic markets, rather than depending on pre-pandemic retail strategies and previous consumer purchasing behaviors that no longer exist. This need for the highest levels of understanding should encourage everyone in the Natural Essence Community to develop market- effective expertise by continually educating themselves and others within the Community utilizing up-to-date information available through courses offered by the Teacher’s Academy.