From The Summer 2005 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Statshots

Women favor fruits and veggies, men savor steak

Women are three times more likely to choose fruits, vegetables and/or salads as their favorite foods, a recent survey says.

• 30 percent of women name fruits, vegetables and/or salads as their favorite foods.
• 25 percent of men identify red meat as their favorite food.
• Only 8 percent of men name fruits and vegetables as their favorite food.
• Only 8 percent of women say red meat is their favorite food.

Source: Grocery Manufacturers of America

Confidence in organics growing in supermarkets

• Sales of organic foods and beverages through mainstream food, drug and mass merchant channels increased 88 percent between 2001 and 2004.
• The majority of this growth took place in supermarkets.
• During the same period, natural foods store sales rose by 71 percent, fueled by the growth of Whole Foods and Wild Oats.

Source: Mintel International

Who the organic consumers are ...
The Natural Marketing Institute has identified four distinct organic consumer segments based on strengths of attitudes and usage.

• Devoteds: 9.2 percent of the general population and 31 percent of all organic users. Devoteds are committed, zealous and have high organic usage and spending rates. This group has fully incorporated organic products into their lives.
• Temperates: 16.7 percent of the general population and 56 percent of all organic users. Temperates are pragmatists with moderate attitudes and account for half of all organic spending. Temperates are attempting to fit organic usage into their existing lifestyles.
• Dabblers: 3.8 percent of the general population and 13 percent of all organic users. Dabblers are non-committal, disproportionately male and the least health-conscious of the three groups. For them, organic usage is more about hipness than health.
• Reluctants: The remainder, who make up 70.3 percent of the general population. This group “may have some level of belief in the benefits of organic usage, but are not using organic products.”

… And what they buy

• In 2004, organic food and beverage sales were $10.9 billion, an increase of 18 percent from 2003.
• Thirty percent of U.S. consumers (or 62 million households) use organic products, down from a high of 40 percent in 2003.
• Consumer awareness of organic foods has grown to the point that 90 percent of the population reports they have heard of organics.

Source: The Natural Marketing Institute

Fresh spinach explosion

• Annual consumption of all kinds of spinach (including fresh, frozen and canned) jumped 66 percent in the decade between 1992 and 2002. Canned spinach slipped to a very small portion of the market, but fresh spinach has grown exponentially.
• U.S. per capita consumption of spinach is 2.4 pounds a year.
• The growth in fresh spinach consumption is attributed to improved technology that allows producers to wash and pack fresh spinach without damaging the easily bruised leaves.

Source: The Washington Post