USA: Organic sales jump 11% to US$39 billion

Organic food sales totalled to US$35.9 billion

Sales of organic food and non-food products in the USA broke through another record in 2014, totaling US$39.1 billion (about €36 billion), up 11.3 percent from the previous year, according to the latest survey on the organic industry from the Organic Trade Association (OTA). Despite the industry struggling with tight supplies of organic ingredients, organic food sales in 2014, at US$35.9 billion, posted an 11 percent rise, while organic non-food sales, at US$3.2 billion, jumped almost 14 percent for the biggest annual increase in six years. The majority of American households in all regions of the country now make organic a part of their supermarket and retail purchases – from 68 to almost 80 percent of households in southern states, to nearly 90 percent on the West Coast and in New England, according OTA.  

Organic fruit and vegetables continued to be the biggest-selling organic category

The results of data collected from over 100,000 households across the country of bar code items purchased at supermarkets and other retail outlets were also revealed. Compiled by SPINS, a market research firm for the organic and natural industry, the findings show booming growth trends for organic, and an increasing penetration by organic into conventional channels. Organic fruits and vegetables continued to be the biggest-selling organic category in 2014 with US$13 billion in sales, up 12 percent from the previous year, and making up more than 36 percent of all organic food sales. Of all the produce now sold in the USA, 12 percent of it is organic, a market share that has more than doubled in the past ten years when organic produce sales accounted for only 5 percent of the fruit and vegetable market. The organic dairy sector posted an almost 11 percent jump in sales in 2014 to US$5.46 billion, the biggest percentage increase for that category in six years. Sales of organic non-food products – accounting for 8 percent of the total organic market – posted the biggest percentage gain in six years, with sales of organic fiber and organic personal care products being the stand-out categories. More information is available from OTA.