The 75 million members of the so-called millennial generation account for 23 percent of the U.S. population, and millennial moms and dads, parents who are 18-34 years old, are now the biggest consumers of organic products in the country, says the Organic Trade Association. A survey commissioned by OTA says half of the parents who buy organic are millennials.
“The Millennial consumer and head of household is changing the landscape of our food industry,” said Laura Batcha, OTA chief executive. Gen X-ers comprise 35 percent of parents who buy organic and Baby Boomers are 14 percent of the total.
As part of the OTA survey, 40 percent of millennial respondents said organic products were an integral part of an environmentally friendly lifestyle. “This generation has grown up eating organic and seeing that organic label,” said Batchta. Organic food sales totaled nearly $40 billion in 2015, up 11 percent from the previous year and equaling 5 percent of U.S. food sales, according to an annual OTA report. An additional $3.6 billion of non-food organic products were sold in 2015.