Organic Harvest
Progressive Grocer|December 2019
The category is robust and growing, thanks to a certain sought-after demographic.
D. Gail Fleenor
Organic Harvest

For anyone out there who dismissed organic produce as having only temporary appeal for consumers, take another look at the numbers: After skyrocketing sales have settled down to a mature but healthy level, prices are now lower, even competing with conventional in some cases — a comfortable place to be.

Primary buyers are the coveted Millennials, who are starting families, a strong indicator of continued growth. Organic produce has hit the sweet spot of sales.

The organic produce category is the biggest-selling organic category, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Organic Trade Association (OTA). With the price gap narrowing between many kinds of conventional and organic produce, more price-reluctant customers are trying organic produce.

The industry has matured and sales have gone from double-digit to still-strong single numbers. Overall, the OTA notes that organic produce sales have increased a healthy 5 percent to 6 percent over last year, and that 15 percent of the produce Americans buy is organic.

“Organic is a strong driver influencing consumer behavior now and moving forward, and it has a strong advantage over other influencers, because it has ties to several hot-button areas: sustainability, health, and motivational ties like the need for transparency, authenticity and knowing a food’s origin,” observes Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director of the OTA. “That is all playing into the robust demand for organic produce, and we see that trend just getting stronger in 2019.”

Organic produce sales reached $5.6 billion in 2018, according to Nielsen data from the Monterey, Calif.-based Organic Produce Network (OPN).

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