Organic Sales Up 5 Percent in 2019

Organic Sales Up 5 Percent in 2019

Organic Trade Association’s 2020 Industry Survey

Today’s interest in organic may be intensified, but organic’s growing popularity isn’t new. Consumers are eating more organic food and using more organic products than ever before, according to the 2020 Organic Industry Survey released by the Organic Trade Association. The U.S. organic sector posted a banner year in 2019, with organic sales in the food and non-food markets totaling a record $55.1 billion, up a solid 5 percent from the previous year.

Rapid changes in food consumption spurred by the pandemic. What will stick and what won’t?

During shelter in place, Americans spent quality time with their supermarkets and their kitchens.  Will this behavior stick post-COVID?   The short answer is yes, according to a recent study published by QSR magazine and conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners.   The global strategy and marketing consulting firm works with brands like Chick-fil-A, Shake Shack, and Qdoba and studied “The New Normal for Restaurants: Consumer behavior in a world after COVID-19”. The “takeaway” (food conveyance pun): post-COVID forecasts a return of some but not all of out-of-home consumption.

Pre COVID, home cooking comprised 33% of meals consumed.  During the COVID, it reached 55%.  Simon-Kucher & Partners forecasts post-COVID home cooking will stick at 37%, a 4% increase from before COVID.  The hypothesis being that home cooking has become a habit at this point. 

By the sounds of it, the $50 billion in lost revenues (Nations Restaurant Association estimate) won't all make it to supermarkets either.  Rapid changes lead to inefficiencies that are costly for Supermarkets too.