United States-Organic farming doing well.
UNITED STATES-ORGANIC FOOD HOLDING ITS OWN.
With 2008 being the worst recent example of a healthy year in economical terms, according to grocery stores, natural food options are still on the rise even with the added cost. Grocery chains like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s market themselves as organic suppliers and natural food superstores and the profits are being raked in by the pesticide-free bundles. According to newly published results, foods being toted as "natural" or "organic" received high ratings the last few years.
No doubt you have seen that the organic movement on every aisle of your grocery store and at local farmer’s markets and farmstands, peddling produce, dairy, meats and canned goods. Even personal care products like shampoo and lotion are popping up in salons.
According to the Global New Products Database, a specialized report by Mintel recently showed the statistics of worldwide products claiming un-enhanced, straight-from-the-ground taste, "appeared on nearly one in four—approximately 23 percent—food and drink launches in 2008, a 9 percent increase from 2007." The U..S. market was even steeper in 2008 with one-third of new products infiltrating the market, a whopping 16 percent increase from the previous year.
Many could blame the shift in global warming focus on the boost in natural food and drink sales, but environmental reports show that the "green movement" doesn’t seem to have the monopoly on the sales as some might think. Mintel says that only 5 percent of the worldwide product uprising was caused by products claming to be "ethical and environmental" with 12 percent worldwide being marketed as "convenience" products. Out of those overall figures, 18 percent show convenience and only 7 percent environmental debuting on American shelves.
There are some nutritionally-touted products, however, that have slid downward in the last year in terms of global demand. Items with the word "plus," indicating added vitamins or minerals such as antioxidants or calcium, have declined 20 percent since the last recorded period. Once thought of as a way to promote living healthy, "plus" items have taken a beating in the media, including a recent scandal with the FDA urging Coke to change its labels, most likely making consumers wary of the purported health benefits.
Nielsen’s Healthy Eating Report for 2008 shows which food/vitamin categories are being boosted in our struggling economy and which are lagging behind in this industry. Specific highlights from the Nielsen ratings are as follows: "natural" foods showed an upshot in sales by 37 percent from 2004, raking in $22.3 billion in 2008, 10 percent more than 2007’s report.
Foods labeled as "organic" amounted to 4.9 billion dollars in sales, 132 percent higher than 2004. Antioxidants are also popular up 147 percent from four years prior. For devout followers of the anti-carbohydrate diets, unfortunately "carb conscious" labels were down 3 percent but still collected about $2 billion in sales. Also, seemingly opposite of the "healthy living campaign" soda pop sales are growing with caffeine not being a concern for most consumers. Caffeine-free drinks went down 3 percent in 2008.
Tom Piroyano, director of industry insight at Nielsen says that the economy doesn’t seem to be affecting sales of these types of conscience-free products but the future may prove him wrong, "Although much is written about organics, products labeled ’natural’ generate much higher sales. In fact, sales of products labeled ’organic’ leveled off significantly in 2008 after four years of solid growth…Looking at the year ahead, it will be interesting to see how the economic downturn affects sales of foods and beverages that are primarily described as organic, which, for many consumers, have a reputation for being more expensive than other foods."
Whether or not the sales leveled off in 2008 or not, the numbers are clear: natural products are not going away any time soon and nor are their usually-higher prices. With any natural or organic product from the eco-and-animal-friendly farm to the store that is not put through the processes of pesticides or preservatives, is already going to cost more to produce and therefore, to consume. Use your discretion in choosing your meat and produce and always read the labels to see where your products are coming from, local is best for the community and the safety (and shelf-life) of your food.
healthnews.com
