Posts Tagged “organic industry”
The booming U.S. organic industry posted new records in 2015, with total organic product sales hitting a new benchmark of $43.3 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year’s record level and far outstripping the overall food market’s growth rate of 3 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey.The industry saw its largest annual dollar gain ever in 2015, adding $4.2 billion in sales, up from the $3.9 billion in new sales recorded in 2014. Of the $43.3 billion in total organic sales, $39.7 billion were organic food sales, up 11 percent from the previous year, and non-food organic products accounted for $3.6 billion, up 13 percent. Nearly 5 percent of all food sold in the U.S. is organic.
U.S. organic sales and growth over time
2015 was a year of significant growth for the industry despite the continued struggle to meet the consumer demand for organic. Supply issues persisted to dominate the industry, as organic production in the U.S. lagged behind consumption. In response, the organic industry came together in creative and proactive ways to address the supply challenge, to improve and develop infrastructure, and to advocate for policy to advance the sector.
“The industry joined in collaborative ways to invest in infrastructure and education, and individual companies invested in their own supply chains to ensure a dependable stream of organic products for the consumer. Despite all the challenges, the organic industry saw its largest dollar growth ever,” said OTA’s CEO and Executive Director Laura Batcha.
Produce the gateway to organic
Organic produce retained its longstanding spot as the largest of all the organic categories with sales of $14.4 billion, up 10.6 percent. Produce has always been and continues to be a gateway to organic. It’s easy for shoppers to make the connection between agricultural practices used in the field and the fresh fruit or vegetables they bite into. Almost 13 percent of the produce sold in this country is now organic.
The demand for fresh organic was most evident in the continued growth of “fresh juices and drinks,” which saw explosive growth of 33.5 percent in 2015, making it the fastest-growing of all the organic subcategories. The fastest-growing of the eight major organic categories was condiments, which crossed the $1 billion mark in sales for the first time in 2015, on 18.5 percent growth.
More accessible, but challenges persist in supply chain
Increased consumer demand for organic products in 2015 could also be attributed to greater access to these products from mainstream retailers. As supermarkets, big box stores, membership warehouse clubs, and other outlets continued to up their organic offerings, organic options have become more available than ever before.
Despite strategic challenges, OTA’s Batcha is confident about the industry’s future prospects. “Organic is a bright spot in agriculture and the economy of America. Our success will continue to be built on a solid foundation of stakeholder engagement, transparency and meaningful organic standards that consumers trust in.”
OTA’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey was conducted and produced on behalf of OTA by Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ). The survey was conducted from January 7, 2016, through March 25, 2016. More than 200 companies responded to the survey.
An 11.3 percent jump in in the organic category has been reported by the organic industry.
The trend is not restricted to any particular region.
“[Organic] doesn’t have any demographic boundaries,” Organic Trade Association (OTA) Chief Executive Laura Batcha said, according to the Washington Business Journal. “This additional new data [shows] it doesn’t have regional or partisan boundaries.”
Leading the organic pack is produce. Organic fruits and vegetables reigned in about $13 billion in 2014, making up more than 36 percent of all organic food sales.
The growth has resulted in the USDA creating a new database to make it possible for sumers to track companies to organic certifications, according to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.
“The more diverse type of operations and the more growing market sectors we have in American agriculture, the better off our country’s rural economy will be,” Vilsack said, according to The Times-Picayune,while anticipating a positive impact on agriculture.
The OCT also found that organic produce in stores has doubled in the last decade, now occupying 12 percent of all produce available in the aisles. This could be in direct response to demand, as the association also reported that the majority of American households nationwide now endeavor to make organic food purchases while shopping retail, the Washington Business Journal reports.