Four billion low-income consumers, a majority of the world’s population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP). New empirical measures of their aggregate purchasing power and their behavior as consumers suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to: better meet their needs, increase their productivity and incomes, and empower their entry into the formal economy.

Four billion low-income consumers, a majority of the world’s population, constitute the base of the economic pyramid (BOP).

New empirical measures of their aggregate purchasing power and their behavior as consumers suggest significant opportunities for market-based approaches to:

better meet their needs,

increase their productivity and incomes, and

empower their entry into the formal economy.

The Food Market The Next 4 Billion: Market Size and Business Strategy at the Base of the Pyramid http://www.wri.org/thenext4billion

In 17 countries in Africa and Asia, the bottom three BOP income segments account for more than 50% of measured national food spending.

The large size of rural food markets underscores the importance of distribution strategies that can efficiently reach rural BOP households.

The ratio of household food spending between the mid-market segment and the BOP1000 segment is consistent with the finding that the share of food in household spending steadily declines as incomes rise – and does so in all income segments.