Organic products are not often sought for or purchased that often by US citizens but when they do fruits and vegetables are the produce filling their shopping trolleys and baskets. Mintel recently examined the purchasing preferences of Americans towards organic produce to understand how the market for them has changed.
Around half of US consumers prefer to buy organic fruits and vegetables rather than other foods like meat, seafood and poultry (41%), juices (39%) and organic dairy products (38%) such as milk, yogurt and cheese. About 30% of Americans are claiming they don’t buy this food because of their organic or natural claims but still purchase them anyway and it is not entirely clear why from that report why this happens.
Roughly a third (32%) of consumers will purchase at least half or more produce with an organic tag suggesting the simple power of the concept. There is also a slow yearly increase. Even if they buy an entire cart or only some items, almost three in five (57%) Americans buy the same amount of organic food as they did in 2016. What is significant is the rise in preference for more organic options because 34% now say they are buying more organic foods in 2017 than last year.
What are the reasons for buying organic ?
Mintel’s evidence points to price and authenticity as purchase deterrents. These two primary factors deter organic shoppers too. Only 39% of consumers whose food purchases are at least half organic and 21% of consumers overall agree that organic foods are worth the extra cost. Americans are most likely to say they would purchase more organic foods if they were less expensive (62%). Only 26% of consumers say they trust organic food labels, while a mere 13% agree that organic foods are highly regulated. The indication is that consumers even US organic consumers are sceptical about the claims made. For a lot of grocery buyers, the brand name is more important than the organic label. Why ? Just 14% of consumers agree that an organic claim is more important than a specific brand.
In addition to organics being more affordable, Americans would like to purchase more organic foods if there was evidence they were healthier (33%) and stayed fresher longer (31%). Digging a bit deeper, organic consumers are most likely purchase organic foods and beverages at a supermarket (55 percent) or mass merchandiser (36 percent). Where they do their shopping is revealing as 1 in 7 of those who purchase organic foods will do so using online channels which indicates the power of the internet.
Billy Roberts, Senior Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel says:-
“The fact that consumers are more likely to seek organic fresh produce items not only speaks to the lack of organic options in certain segments, but also to the notion that organic claims simply resonate in some categories more so than in others. Our research shows that organic brands appeal to younger consumers, but there is significant effort required to persuade older generations of the value of organic or natural claims. This indicates that if organic brands can reassure consumers that organic foods are indeed living up to their claims, whether through on-pack messaging or marketing campaigns, it could be a boon to the category.”
see the Press Release published on the 9th August 2017.
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