The word “organic” has become a household term, and purchasing trends are following suit, according to new data from Nielsen. In the past year, 88% of U.S. households have purchased organic food and beverages—a trend that’s growing in strength as consumers increasingly turn to healthier and cleaner options in food, beverages, and non-food categories like personal care. And retail measurement data validate this shift. In the year ended Sept. 2, 2017, dollar sales of UPC-coded organic products grew 9.8% and unit volume increased 11.4%.
In the past, organic products were most prevalently available in premier natural and fresh grocery stores. In recent years, however, organics have become more accessible—and popular—than ever, with dollar sales shifting across channel lines. Premier natural and fresh outlets account for 26% of organic spend, but share has started to shift in the past two years. Warehouse/club stores, which gained 0.8 percentage point in the past two years, now represent 27% of all organic spend. But organic products aren’t just making headway in the channels that high-income shoppers are more likely to frequent. In fact, supermarkets, mass merchandisers, and discount grocery channels now represent a combined 25% share of organic spend, up 2.0 percentage points from two years ago.
In addition to becoming more accessible across retail channels, organic growth is also spreading across the actual store. Notably, fresh departments are top drivers of success for retailers when it comes to organic offerings, but there are still many other opportunities for growth across center store aisles that carry shelf-stable packaged goods, dairy, and frozen foods.