ORGANIC OFFERINGS:
MORE THAN JUST GREAT PRODUCE
By Katherine DiMatteo
What do you first think of when you think organic: Lush
fruits and vegetables? Flavorful and juicy oranges? Tasty
tomatoes? Organic produce is an integral part of this
industry—and will remain so. However, statistics suggest
this segment represents a shrinking portion of overall
organic retail sales.
Growth of Organic Products
In 1998, produce drove approximately 65 percent of
US retail organic sales, according to the market research
firm Datamonitor. Based on their projections, fresh fruits
and vegetables are expected to represent only about 50
percent of total US retail organic food sales in 2001, then
drop to 40 percent during 2002. This is because organic
produce as a category is growing by approximately 8 percent
per year, compared with a minimum 20 percent growth each
year for organic food products overall. Faster growing
categories, although currently representing a smaller
portion of organic sales than does produce, include frozen
foods (growing by about 39 percent per year), ready-made
meals (39 percent), baby food (38 percent), bakery and
cereal products (37 percent), dairy products (36 percent),
and meat/meat products (30 percent). Clearly, organic
consumers want more products—and more convenience in the
products they buy.
There are many reasons for the growing popularity of
organically produced as milk, cheese, meats, and baby food.
For one thing, the routine use of antibiotics and growth
hormones in conventional livestock handling is a motivating
factor to seek organically derived dairy and meat products.
As the growth in organic baby food reflects, new parents
often gain a new outlook with the birth of a child. If they
haven’t done so previously, new parents may begin
considering the interconnectedness between the well-being of
the planet and their offspring, and therefore begin
purchasing organic food and fiber products for their
children.
In addition, the Natural Marketing Institute’s Organic
Consumer Trends 2001 report shows that if you use organic
products, you are much more likely than the general
population to use a range of “functional foods.” For
example, organic users are more likely to eat soy products
and high-protein foods. The report also finds that organic
users are 48 percent to 71 percent more likely to purchase
herbs than the general population.
The wide variety of organic foods available today meets the
diverse tastes and product needs of the growing number of
people who are choosing organic. In addition to fruits,
vegetables, grains, seeds, meat, eggs, dairy items, and baby
foods, shoppers are likely to fill their carts with pasta
sauces, salsa, fruit juice, soup, cereal, ice cream, peanut
butter, tea, coffee, frozen dinners, chocolate, popcorn,
beer, and other beverages, among other things.
What’s Ahead
Looking to the future, keep in mind that statistics
about organic food don’t take into consideration an
emerging market: organic fiber products. While overall
awareness of the availability of organic fiber products
remains low, those who avidly or frequently buy organic
foods are now beginning to seek out organic fiber products.
Organic food and beverage items are “gateway products”
into the organic sector, according to The Organic Trade
Association’s Organic Fiber Shopper Study, conducted by
The Hartman Group. In general, consumers first purchase
organic produce or other food items before they learn about
and buy organic fiber products. Consumers polled in this
study expressed an interest in buying a range of these
items, including:
- bedding, towels, shower
curtains, and furniture coverings
- diapers and baby clothes
- shoes, T-shirts, jeans,
sleepwear, and underwear
- fashionable clothing
(including more professional styles for work)
- handmade sweaters, hats,
gloves, scarves, and ties
- women’s pants and
men’s casual trousers
- gardening apparel.
Why Organic?
Long the driving force behind organic agriculture,
environmental factors have recently increased in importance
among the general population, not just among organic
consumers. “Overall, this finding complements the
increased penetration of organic products. It may be
surmised that as environmental concerns increase, so will
organic opportunities,” finds the Organic Consumer Trends
2001 report.
Organic, after all, stands for the way agricultural
products—whether food or fiber—are grown and processed.
It’s a sure bet that a wide range of end products, from
cosmetics to pet foods, will soon become available in
organic form, if they aren’t already. When you choose any
of these items, you are effectively voting for an
agricultural production system that strives for a balance
with nature by replenishing and maintaining soil fertility,
eliminating the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and
fertilizers, and building biologically diverse agriculture.
Organic products will continue to elicit increasing interest
in the months and years to come. You’ll notice a growing
number and range of organic products in more of the places
where you shop. As a result, it will become easier for you
to include organic products in your purchases.
Recipient of the Rachel Carson Environmental Award from
the National Nutritional Foods Association in June 2001,
Katherine DiMatteo is executive director of the Organic
Trade Association.
Selected Sources
1999 US Organics,
Datamonitor, 1999
Organic Consumer Trends 2001,
Natural Marketing Institute, 5/01
The Organic Trade Association’s Organic Fiber
Shopper Study, OTA/The Hartman Group, 2000
Reprinted with permission from the September 2001
edition of Taste for Life, Nutrition Solutions You Can
Trust, www.tasteforlife.com, 603-924-7271.
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