More Demand For Organic In 2008!

Recently released results from a survey conducted by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) show that U.S. sales of organic products rose by 17.1% in 2008! The results show that organic food sales grew in 2008 by 15.8% to reach $22.9 billion, while organic non-food sales grew by 39.4% to reach $1.648 billion. Organic food sales now account for around 3.5% of all food product sales in the United States.

This is a particularly remarkable trend given the current downturn in the economy. There is only speculation as to why organic products are seeing these increased sales. Perhaps as organic products become more mainstream they are also being marketed in more mainstream ways like increased use of coupons and more availability in private label lines at supermarkets.

We will only really know just how embedded this trend is in our consumers if double digit increases continue in next year's survey. We encourage you to put your critical lenses on and decide for yourselves just how much confidence you have in these types of reports. What might be missing from their reports that could indicate that the organic market is perhaps not growing? Do you believe that more customers are purchasing organically grown produce?

How about you? Has the economy made you rethink which products you purchase are organic and which you are okay with if they are grown conventionally? Do you believe there is increased value in organic products? Do you think that some of these reports are trustworthy?