Ten or so years ago, the words “organic foods” were more or less exclusively associated with hippies and health nuts. Times have changed however, and with food-related health concerns growing more and more rampant, an increasing number of everyday consumers are filling their shopping carts with organic groceries.
The market for organic foods is already valued at over US $ 13 billion in the US alone, and that number is set to climb at a CAGR of 7.4 percent during the 2012-2016 period thanks to some very impactful drivers.
The most obvious of these pushing forces, is the growing awareness about health and environmental issues in the US. Earlier this year, The Organic Trade Association noted that if every farmer in the US were to convert to organic food production, we could eliminate the use of 500 million pounds of harmful pesticides per year. With global warming and resource shortages becoming a very real thing, many end-users are more willing than ever before to jump on the organic foods bandwagon and do their part to help the environment.
Perhaps even more impactful however, is the improved accessibility and affordability of organic food at grocery stores. During the market’s nascent stages, many consumers resisted buying organic foods due to the often exorbitant prices of such product.
Lately however, the market has witnessed a huge rise of private label brands by large retailers such as Safeway and Wal-Mart, which provide a wide variety of natural and organic foods at reasonable prices to consumers. As these big box and discount stores enter the market, other smaller vendors face pressure to competitively price their own products. Although this trend may slightly reduce the profit markets of key-players, any negative impact that it has on overall revenue will undoubtedly be offset by the number of new end-users who will “go organic” thanks to the accessibility of these organic foods.
When it comes down to it, people across the globe are realizing with great clarity that in this day and age, our environment and our own bodies must be taken care of. The growth of the organic foods market is based on this premise, and as more and more consumers realize the stakes that they have in being mindful of what is put in their bodies, this sector of the food industry will continue to broaden.
For more information, view our 2012-2016 report on The Organic Food Market in the US.
