Organic Sales Are Still Growing!

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The sales of organic fruits and vegetables were estimated to be at $5.5 billion in 2016. According to the Organic Trade Association, this value was up by 5% over the previous years. The organization also noted that more than half of American households bought organic produce in the earlier years and that the millennials are the driving force of the sales, primarily since their purchasing powers have increased.

Millennials as The Driving Force of Organic Sales

Brian Vertrees, director of business development of Naturipe Farms LLC, noted that the sales of organic berries are up in retail stores. In fact, the sale of organic berries is the second-largest in the organic produce industry.

The growth category of organic products has not reached a plateau yet as millennials are demanding more organic products. According to Chris Glynn from Tanimura & Antle Inc., young adults are the primary drivers of the trend. As the new group becomes parents, the need for healthy food becomes their main priority.

The growth of organic produce is also driving the sales of different categories within the produce department as more consumers are not only demanding organic products but are also looking for affordable products with functional benefits. Eating organic is more than a trend and a marketing tool, it has become a way of life for many people particularly those who are looking for ways to eat healthily and sustainably.

The Shift in The Market

 

Consumers want to buy fresh produce that is grown in safe and sustainable methods. The growth of organic sales is a key indicator that this trend is here to stay. Many food manufacturers and industry players have expanded their line of organic products to increase their market reach.

Organic produce and products are changing the industry. Even farmers have increased their production of organic fruits by getting certified for their next harvest season. For instance, there is an increase in the production in the state of Washington in the past years; seemingly everyone is jumping on the organic bandwagon

The Future of Organics

There are many benefits of consuming organic foods. The sensitivity of consumers towards the food that they eat and how it affects their health is the reason why the organic market is widely embraced by everyone. Although many industry experts have forecasted that the organic industry will plateau, it has not happened yet and will likely not happen anytime soon. As more and more young individuals opt for healthier options more than the cost and convenience, food growers, manufacturers, and even retail stores will continue to meet the demands of the consumers. The trend will always be up as long as the younger demographics continue to buy into a healthy lifestyle.

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Watching The Moving Target On Consumer Preferences

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For several years already,  consumer preferences have placed importance on their health and wellness. In the recent American Bankers’ Association annual convention, Todd Hale noted that while people want healthy foods, they also want to indulge. Fortunately, there is a growing trend of healthy indulgent categories. For instance, favorite comfort foods such as pies and other specialty desserts have experienced growth according to Nielsen data.

Retailers Take Advantage of the Desire for Freshness

There is an increasing desire for consumers to eat sweet goods that are fresh. Most consumers prefer fresher products, and this fact is used as an advantage by retailers. Food manufacturers use specialized packaging on cakes, cookies, and donuts. Moreover, they also place these products around the store so that consumers can easily access them and not just go to the center store anymore to get them. Another strategy that retailers do is to use technology such as television screens to showcase their indulgent offerings.

Retailers know that consumers who are not afraid to indulge are likely to gravitate towards eating healthy. Jones-Barber from Dawn’s Bakers Truth noted that with the changing trend of people wanting to eat healthily, it is the role of food manufacturers and retail companies to deliver products that are healthy and also satisfies the indulgence of consumers.

Today’s Consumer Preferences Driven by Transparency and Truth

Aside from eating healthy, consumers also demand transparency and truth. This is the reason why many food manufacturers including Kroger are now jumping on the bandwagon for organic brands that come with clean labels. Consumers are now opting for food products wherein they know what they are made from or where they come from.

To date, there is a multitude of food manufacturers that create products with clean labels. Health-conscious individuals are also leaning towards products with a clean label because they are deemed healthier as they don’t contain preservatives, additives, and synthetic color and flavor.

Health and Wellness is a Moving Target

While it is easy to say that food manufacturers should focus on creating healthy products, it is often considered by food manufacturers as a moving target. The thing is that the term “health and wellness” can mean different things to different consumers.

Food manufacturers still need to define what their consumers think about “health and wellness.” Consumer feedback is essential for food manufacturing and retailers to address the needs of their consumers. This is the reason why there are so many products like trans-fat-free, sugar-free, and other ingredients that make a particular product more appealing to health-conscious consumers.

The ever-changing preferences of consumers make food manufacturers adapt to the ever-changing needs thus creating a wave of food trends along the way and demanding innovation from food manufacturers. And because it is a moving target, it can move quickly to new challenges and trends are created now and then.

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Study: Junk Food Cravings Are Bad For Your Wallet and Health

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When people are stressed out, they tend to crave certain types of food. When it comes to cravings, people don’t seek healthy food. It is natural for people to opt for fat-filled or sugar-laden junk food to satisfy their cravings.

While many health advocates discourage people from snacking on too much junk food because of the health repercussions they present, did you know that your junk food craving is not only hurting your health, but also your wallet? A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences revealed that people are willing to pay more when they are craving for junk food.

The Two Research Studies

In their experiment, they surveyed 44 non-dieters who had not eaten for a few hours and asked them how much they wanted to eat snack foods and how much they were willing to pay if they are given a $5 budget. They also underwent a multi-sensory experience and were asked how much they wanted to eat a particular junk food item and how much they were willing to pay.

The study revealed that the respondents desire increased. And the participants are willing to pay $0.66 more for items that they want and only $0.26 for similar snack items. When presented with less-similar yet healthy food items such as pretzels or granola bars, they were not willing to pay that much.

A second experiment repeated the process using 45 people. However, the respondents can pay for one, two or until eight “units” of whatever that made them crave food. The second study noted that people are willing to pay more for snacks with larger quantities.

The two studies demonstrated the power of cravings. And even if people live healthier lifestyles, their cravings can overshadow the value of their health. The most common reason why health is dominated by craving is that it can be hard to control craving unless intervention on their eating habits is done.

Junk Food Cravings Can Dissipate After A Few Hours

It may be a psychological thing, and craving is all about satisfying the brain and not the gut. This is the reason why people make the wrong food decisions when they are in the middle of their cravings. Even people who live healthy lifestyles are prone to consuming junk foods when they are craving. When asked why they revert to eating junk food, they reason out that craving is different from hunger. Perhaps there is something about cravings that make people forget about their health.

While cravings for junk food can be intense for people who are hungry, it can dissipate within a few hours. And no, you don’t have to eat food to stop the craving. You can do self-regulation to naturally dispel cravings or wait it out so that you can resist the lure of consuming junk food. By the time your cravings are gone, that’s the time when you decide to eat. And when you eat, try to consume healthier food options.

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Consumers Going All In On Allergy Free Foods

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Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in the number of people who suffer from food allergies. The increasing number of individuals with food allergies is one of the top reasons why most people develop specialized diets with preference to clean eating and non-GMO foods.

With consumers suffering from food allergies, more people want access to allergy free foods. In the 2004 passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, all food manufacturers in the United States are required to label their products with ingredients that may contain top allergens such as dairy, soy, gluten, peanuts, eggs, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish. This is the reason why you will see these ingredients in the label list in plain language. Thus, if the product contains “soy lecithin,” it should still indicate “Soy” on the package.

Allergy Free Food is on the Rise

Katherine Allmandinger, manager of strategic insight for Nielsen’s health and wellness practice, noted that there is a growth of allergy free foods in the market today. About 46% of consumers say that the allergy free claims of food manufacturers influence their purchase decisions.

In fact, there are two types of consumers who buy allergy free products–the worriers and wonderers. While worriers have medical bases to avoid a particular kind of ingredient due to adverse reactions, this only reflects a low percentage of the actual consumers who want allergy-free foods.

It is essential to take note that average consumers are not necessarily looking for allergy-friendly foods because they suffer from specific allergic reactions. Instead, they look for these foods because they want to cut out on too much dairy or they want to jump in on the bandwagon of eating healthy.

How Food Manufacturers Make Allergy-Free Products

Before the popularity of allergy-free foods, people only ate naturally allergy-free food. For instance, Enjoy Life, a food company in the United States, has been making allergen-free products for over a decade. Their factories were some of the first to have no cross-contamination with other products.

 

On the other hand, other food manufacturers are developing products that use alternative yet non-allergen ingredients. For instance, snack company Quinn uses sorghum instead of other gluten-containing grains to create their products. They also tested other ancient grains to be able to develop allergy-free products for their customers.

Allergy-Free Foods are a Trendy Niche in the Market

As food allergies continue to rise all over the world, the allergy-free food trend will likely flourish as more and more people want food products that are healthier. In fact, there are many noticeable booths and shops that showcase allergen-free options. Moreover, many food manufacturers are innovating their products so that they are not only healthy but that they also pass the taste test.

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Ad Industry: The Missing Link in Getting Children to Eat More Veggies

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It is the job of advertisers to convince ordinary people to buy a particular product. And with advertisements featuring crisps, burgers, and fizzy drinks, it is no wonder why it is so easy for people to indulge in unhealthy eating habits. But what if ads can turn around the eating habits of people and convince them to eat healthily?

The Popeye Moment

Well, this has happened in the past. Remember the iconic cartoon character Popeye? The spinach-gulping sailor boosted the rise of spinach sales during the Great Depression of 1930. In fact, regions that grow spinach erected status of the sailor out of gratitude. This was also the generation when people consumed more vitamins because they ate healthily.

This is the reason why ad man Dan Parker thinks that it is time for the marketing industry to deploy ads depicting healthier eating habits to entice viewers particularly children to eat healthily. Currently, many children perceive vegetables as the bad guys and this is the reason why they don’t eat vegetables. But if this perception can be changed, it will encourage children to eat more veggies.

Dan Parker worked with the campaign group Peas Please that is backed by famous chefs like Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in order to roll out a campaign to alter our perceptions on vegetables and eating healthily.

Normalizing Veggies Consumption for Children

One of the most important methods of changing the perception of people towards eating vegetables is to normalize it. The thing is that the food industry has played with our desire to fit in. For instance, we have been persuaded that eating a snack during mid-morning and mid-afternoon is normal and that eating large portions of meals is normal.

If advertisers can perceive eating healthy as normal, then this can work for everyone. Frozen food company Birds Eye, for example, spends money on marketing vegetables and is supporting the Peas Please campaign. The core message of the company is to normalize frozen vegetables.

How the Internet Can Encourage Everyone to Love Vegetables

Showing infomercials about eating healthy is also helpful. Today, this can be easily done by using the social media to promote eating healthy among people. Campaigns should be effective enough such that it can make people feel and think differently about vegetables. The holy grail is how to raise the idea that eating vegetables can be fun.

This can be easily done by seeking help from celebrities whom children and people, in general, look up to. For instance, school children from the Pentrefoelas Community School in Wales posted pictures on social media together with chefs and football players while having fun holding carrots and cabbages. This can be done anywhere to show to everyone that eating vegetables is not boring.

The thing is that effective advertising can stir emotions. Dan Parker noted that if you are in an emotional state, then you become more susceptible to subliminal messages which makes it is easier to influence you to do something… in this case, buy and eat healthier foods.

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The Mighty Cauliflower Is Not Just Hype

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Time Magazine declared in 2017 that the lowly cauliflower is the new “it” vegetable while Bloomberg dubbed is as “the new kale.” Although these declarations should have encouraged people to eat more of this vegetable, its sales remained flat for a few months. In fact, Nielsen Perishables reported that while the sales of cauliflower grew to 8% annually from 2011 to 2016, it remained flat ever since.

How the Cauliflower Debuted As the “It” Veggie

Although people have been intrigued about cauliflower for a few years, it was only now that it was presented under the limelight. It was the Cauliplower’s 2017 debut that made this vegetable famous. It was during the expo when consumers were first introduced to the first gluten-free cauliflower pizza crust. To date, nearly 9,000 stores distribute this product that led to the creation of a new baking mix by the company. This also sparked the trend which resulted in the market seeing products like cauliflower chips and cauliflower pretzels. Gone are the days when the only cauliflower product available at Trader Joe’s is cauliflower rice.

What makes the vegetable trendy is that it is healthy, full of fiber and low in carbohydrate content, which makes it a very logical alternative to grains especially among people who cannot eat grains. Grains have been blamed for digestive issues which are pushing the gluten-free trend. This vegetable also fits well with the growing vegan and plant-based movement. In a report released by GlobalData, there was an increase of 600% of people who opt for the vegan lifestyle in the U.S.

High Demand, Low Production

 

There is an increased consumption of fresh cauliflower according to the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service. The per capita consumption of cauliflower is estimated to 2.18 pounds in 2017 that is 38% higher from the 1.57 pounds in 2016 and 1.33 pounds in 2010.

Despite the increased consumption per capita of cauliflower, there is still a limited supply of cauliflower to meet the growing demands of the consumer. This is expected to drive the prices of the vegetable higher. But will this make a price war in the market? Not entirely as the agriculture sector is working hard to meet the growing demands of this wonder veggie.

On the other hand, cauliflower contains a minimal amount of starch, which makes formulation challenging to create new products without using specialized equipment. For instance, cauliflower pretzels and crackers need special tools to develop the new products according to Ground Up COO Vincent James–maker of cauliflower crackers and pretzels.

The lowly cauliflower has emerged into a superfood, and it has come a long way since it debuted in the expo. If food manufacturers can continue to create more opportunities to develop cauliflower-based products despite the challenges such as the high price and low demand, then this vegetable will have a long way to go before it reaches its full potential.

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Nielsen: Private Label Sales Grew 3X Faster Than National Brands

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In a recent report released by Nielsen and cited by Food Navigator, private label sales surpassed the sales of national brands. Private labels are manufactured by one company under another company’s brand or private label. Also called OEM products, they can add margin to stores as well as provide more credibility to shoppers.

The Benefits of Private Labels

Whether it is a bottle of orange juice or a bottle of ketchup, today’s shoppers are comfortable with private labels, which they also called “generic” brands.  There are a lot of benefits to using private labels. Private skip the big brand name, so there is no added cost which allows vendors to add cost or value to their product in other areas to make it more reliable. It is also a solid strategy for retailers as it can reduce competition in different categories.

The Growth of Private Label Sales

 

The Nielsen report has shows that private labels have experienced a complete reversal regarding its growth, sales, and popularity. In fact, future projections indicate that there will be continued growth for such products and that the market share could hit 25.7% by 2027. This translates to an 8% growth rate over the next ten years.

The popularity of private labels has resulted in retailers like Lidl, Aldi, and Trader Joe’s to earn more revenue and build customer loyalty. In fact, such retail companies have emphasized these products in their online and brick and mortar stores with much success.

National Brands Vs. Private Labels

Big food manufacturers are watching this trend with alarm. And even the brands that remain strong and unsurpassed by private label products are still watching with keen eyes and ready to react. Most national brands are working on convincing shoppers that national brands have been tried and tested and worth the extra cost. But in reality, market experts noted that longtime legacy brands could get an extra boost especially if they continue to innovate and do not rest on their laurels.

While the private label brands are not yet posing too much threat to national brands, there is still a possibility that it can happen. If national brands cannot keep up with the private labels, the market scene in the United States will look more like in Europe where private label commands more loyalty from consumers.  In fact, in the UK, private labels hold 45% of the market share within the grocery sector. The reason why private labels are popular in Europe is that they provide more value for the money and that they offer more choices to shoppers.

Private labels will be huge in the following years. If private labels keep up with the changes as well as offer more value and choices to shoppers, they can ride the current trend for a long time to come.

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Consumers of All Generations Are Loving Plant-Based Foods

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In a report released by survey company Datassentials, it revealed that many Americans are shifting towards plant-based foods because of the benefits to the body. In fact, most people are increasing their intake of fresh fruits and vegetables more than ever.

There are many reasons why consumers are shifting towards a new diet regimen, and the reasons vary across demographics. For instance, 44% of the Generation Z consumers change to plant-based foods as they enjoy the taste of fruits and vegetables while 21% of millennial consumers opt for plant-based products to show support to the local farmers.  It is essential to take note that while consuming plant-based products come with a lot of functional benefits, many consumers are uncertain about the role of plant-based foods. In fact, fewer can identify the attributes of the specific plant-based foods that they are consuming.

Big Companies Are Jumping on The Bandwagon

Having said this, consumers who opt for the plant-based diet usually count on seeds, nuts, legumes, and whole grains as part of their pantry staples. But aside from these food items, consumers also eat more fruits and vegetables.

The increasing consumption of fresh produce and plant-based products has resulted in sales growth for big companies. Around 30% of the consumers limiting their use of meat (flexitarians or pescatarians) or avoiding meat (vegan or vegetarians) have been attracted to the new plant-based meat alternatives in the market. Even big corporations have embraced this trend. Companies like Starbucks, for example, have released its line of nut milk-based beverages while TGI Fridays have stepped into the plant-based territory by using Beyond Meat’s meatless burger to create most of their plant-based dishes.

How Other Companies Can Leverage on The Trend of Plant-Based Foods

While big companies are joining the trend in releasing products made from plant-based ingredients, smaller enterprises are a bit skeptical. However, food manufacturers can leverage the trend and attract more consumers by incorporating global flavors to make their food more interesting. Using bold flavors and ethnic recipes can also attract consumers. On the other hand, avoiding alienating descriptions such as putting on the label “vegan” or “vegetarian” will also help promote the product.

In fact, 85% of consumers agree that plant-based foods are fulfilling and as delicious as animal protein-based products. But more than mimicking animal protein, consumers are also drawn to colorful produce thanks to the promotion of smoothies and fruit bowls on social media. The thing is that social media plays a critical role in promoting plant-based foods, especially among millennials.

With the increasing number of consumers opting for plant-based foods, it is no wonder why many companies are embracing this niche thus the sale is likely to increase in the years to follow. The only challenge here is to give further knowledge to consumers so that they will be encouraged to eat more plant-based foods not only for their health but also for the environment.

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