Americans purchased a record $45.2 billion worth of organic food last year – half of it in fruit, vegetables, dairy and eggs – as organics took a still-larger share of U.S. spending on food, said a survey commissioned by the Organic Trade Association. Sales of organic food more than doubled in the past decade and now account for 5.5 percent of grocery sales.
“Organic has arrived. And everyone is paying attention,” said OTA chief executive Laura Bachta. “Consumers love organic and now we’re able to choose organic in virtually every aisle in the store.”
Beverages made with all-organic ingredients such as fruit juices, are now the third-largest sales category, at $5.9 billion and up 10.5 percent from the previous year. Produce is the No. 1 category, at $16.5 billion and up by 5.3 percent. Dairy and eggs are the second-largest sales category at $6.5 percent, up by 0.9 percent.
“The slow growth in this key organic category acted as a drag on the growth of the overall industry,” said the OTA. Sales were constrained by the rising popularity of plant-based milks and competition for sales between organic eggs and pasture-raised eggs. The trade group said USDA’s decision to kill a regulation on animal welfare standards for organic farms “caused millions of consumers to question the meaning and relevance of the USDA Organic seal… This confusion and uncertainty dampened consumer demand for both organic eggs and organic dairy.” The USDA also killed a proposal for a checkoff program for organics.
Overall, sales of organic food rose by 6.4 percent, or $2.7 billion, from the preceding year and market share rose by 0.3 percent. The growth rate in 2017 was the slowest since 2009, during the recession. “The organic market is maturing and coming of age. New channel and product expansions are becoming more incremental rather than revolutionary,” said the OTA.