From The Fall 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Natural HABA needs mass attention

Shoppers want alternatives to dodgy ingredients in cosmetics

Vicky Uhland

You’ve cultivated your store’s organic produce section and beefed up the natural meat case. Herbal supplements are no longer supplemental to your product mix, and you’ve even thrown a bone to your customers who want natural pet treats.

But there may be one category in which you’re not groomed for success, according to a new survey commissioned by Natural Grocery Buyer.

“There appears to be a lower penetration of natural and organic body care products in mainstream channels such as mass merchandisers, conventional grocery stores and mainstream drug stores,” as compared with natural foods stores, says Sherwood Badger Smith, research director of NGB’s second annual Consumer Research Study.

According to NGB’s research, 71 percent of shoppers buy their natural soap, shampoo, toothpaste, lotion and other personal care products in natural foods stores or supermarkets, compared with 54 percent in mass merchandisers, conventional supermarkets and club stores.

“It may be that body care products are the final frontier where naturals retailers can hold the advantage in product assortment,” Smith concludes.

Smith’s firm, The Intelligence Agency, of Traverse City, Mich., conducted an online survey of more than 2,000 respondents in May for NGB to discover how and why consumers make decisions to purchase natural, organic and health products from various retail outlets.

One of the survey’s conclusions is that shoppers generally purchase fewer personal care products than food or supplements, but if they had to choose only one new natural or organic product they would most like to see available in their favorite retail outlet, they would opt for a beauty or personal care item.

Good for mother and Mother Nature
The survey found that shoppers are increasingly associating natural personal care products with health and well-being—for both themselves and the environment.

“Since no one has been able to identify which conventional products were causing my allergies, I’ve changed what products I am comfortable with,” says Norma James-McKibbin of Norfolk, Va., who now buys natural deodorant, body wash and “even dog shampoo.”

Carol Auerbach of Bethesda, Md., told researchers the “healthy” items she most frequently buys are organic fruit and vegetables and natural or organic skin care products.

However, she notes, “I usually shop at Whole Foods Market almost exclusively for these products. I don’t usually buy them at supermarkets because they don’t seem to carry what I want.”

Another respondent, Midwesterner Sharon Yelton, agrees. “I can get the organic milk and a limited amount of organic fruits and veggies at Kroger or Meijer, and a few of [my favorite grocery] brands, but no natural care products. I’ve not found any of these things at Wal-Mart.”

On the other hand, Linda Mesecher of Iowa buys her natural personal care products almost exclusively at medium-sized conventional grocery stores such as Hannaford and Shaw’s because “availability and price are definitely the biggest factors” in determining her shopping choices. “I guess I’ve been buying organic products for over 20 years. Over the past 10 years or so I have started buying more natural products such as vitamin supplements [and] chemical-free soaps,” she says.

Other survey respondents have various reasons for buying their personal care items in natural rather than conventional groceries. “I enjoy the employees at Whole Foods because they tend to share my lifestyle and introduce me to new products and ideas based on my interests, going well beyond the call of duty,” says Jennifer Vincent of West Bloomfield, Mich. Vincent began buying natural products eight years ago and now 80 percent of her grocery store purchases are natural or organic. “I … have incorporated many new products such as herbal supplements and natural beauty and cleansing products, including makeup,” she says.

Laura Napoleon of Manhasset, N.Y., recently started buying natural cosmetics because of negative publicity about ingredients in conventional makeup. She shops most frequently at Whole Foods, but occasionally visits Stop & Shop and Waldbaum in Little Neck, N.Y. She says she is loyal to stores that sell brands she trusts—most often from small organics companies.

Although some survey respondents prefer to buy their personal care products in natural foods stores, none say they’re opposed to visiting their local grocery for a natural soap or shampoo. The conclusion: Expand your body care aisle, and you may soon clean up at the cash register.

Sidebars:
Purchase channels for natural body care

Vicky Uhland is a Denver freelance writer.