Almost seven in ten consumers use some type of organic product, a trend that has been moving steadily upward over the past 9 years. In the U.S., organic product sales reached over $35B in 2013 with organic foods and beverages representing 92% of those sales. In fact, organic food accounts for almost 5% of all U.S. food sales. And while the recession had an impact on organic food and beverage use, it is now rebounding after a post-recession flattening and all indications point to further future growth.

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2015 Growing the Organic Industry,
Strategies for Brand Success
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2. ABSTRACT
2015 Growing the Organic Industry, Strategies for Brand
Almost 7-in-10 consumers use some type of organic product, a trend that has been moving steadily upward
over the past nine years. In the U.S., organic product sales reached over $35B in 2013, with organic foods and
beverages representing 92% of those sales. In fact, organic food accounts for almost 5% of all U.S. food sales.
And, while the recession had an impact on organic food and beverage use, it is now rebounding after a post-
recession flattening, and all indications point to further future growth.
Who is using organic?
NMI’s organic segmentation model breaks down consumers by differing levels of usage and commitment. There
has been success in this area as the past eight years show a migration toward the more committed segments.
There is a trended increase in Millennials entering the category that represents an important development for the
industry as it suggests potential longevity and future expansion.
Organic Users’ lifestyle characteristics reveal a very active, community-involved, highly influential, and
information-seeking consumer group. Almost 4-in-10 are ‘new’ (past year) Organic Users.

3. ABSTRACT
What motivatates consumers to choose organic?
It is a complex combination of both positive drivers and avoidance, some of which include: a craving to eat
healthy, a desire to avoid negative ingredients (primarily pesticides, hormones, GMOs), a mistrust of the food
chain and manufacturers, a wish to promote a sustainable and safer environment, and having a child in the
household.
The ‘healthy factor’ is a key component of organics. Challenges for organic packaged goods exist, as processed
foods with many ingredients are inherently viewed as less healthy, whether they are organic or not.
Despite positive growth in the industry and obvious efforts to market and communicate, confusion still abounds.
Many don’t know what the characteristics or regulations of organics are, they are unclear about the benefits, or
they easily confuse it with natural.
The future of the organic industry is optimistic with prospects for bringing more consumers into the fold and
embracing organics with greater commitment. There is an opportunity to inform consumers, thus affecting what
they think. In addition, there is opportunity to facilitate action which enables feelings of peace of mind, power over
making healthier choices and progress toward personal and planetary improvements.

4. ABSTRACT
Data Source: NMI’s Health And Wellness Trends Database
• Most comprehensive data available on health and wellness; based on attitudes, behavior and product usage
within the world of health and wellness
• Annual consumer research among U.S. general population adults and primary grocery shopper
• Currently 16 years of trended data: 1999 through 2014, inclusive; a total of 50,000+ consumers in the database
• Nationally representative sample of the U. S. population statistically valid at 95% confidence level to +/- 1.2%
• This fourth-quarter 2014 survey was conducted online among 3,000+ general population consumers; primary
grocery shoppers are also identified
• Conducted via online methodology
Data Source: NMI’s Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability (LOHAS) Database
• Quantifies the size of the consumer market for environmentally and socially responsible products and services
• Measures the importance of environment and societal issues as well as corporate social responsibility
• Explores environmentally conscious behavior
• Determines consumer usage of LOHAS products and services
• Annual tracking study in U.S. since 2002 and globally since 2005
• Online methodology
• 4,000+ U.S. adults in 2014, nationally projectable to the U.S. adult population and accurate at the 95%
confidence level to +/- 2%
• 90,000+ total global adults in database

5. METHODOLOGY
In 2014, NMI conducted an in-depth, multi-phase project to delve into the state of the organic industry. This report
is a compilation of all phases of this study in one comprehensive source for all things organic.
1) NMI Database analysis for general population and Organic Segment insights – over 7000 interviews:
Target consumer profiling as well as attitudinal and behavioral metrics gleaned from NMI’s Health and Wellness
Trends Data (HWTD) (n=3000+) and NMI’s Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) database (n=4000+).
2) Nielsen HomeScan organic segment insight – analysis of 50,000+ households:
NMI’s Organic Segments overlaid with Nielsen HomeScan data provide segment contribution to volume and
frequency across categories, identification of opportunistic categories and need states within organic.
Overviews are provided herein; more detailed analysis on over 40 specific organic food and beverage categories
is available.
3) Consumer qualitative peer groups – 4 cities, 30+ hours of interviews:
Peer-to-peer in-home focus groups were conducted across demographic and psychographic groups to explore
actual consumer emotions and behavior within organic categories and delve into barriers to usage. Detailed
methodology is provided in the next pages.
4) Video Library of Insight: A searchable video library of insights from these peer groups is available. Over 30
hours of video and transcription allows for searching by topic, key word, or segment to provide more in-depth
‘color’ and detail to your analysis.

6. The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI) is a leading business consulting and market research firm
within the world of health and wellness. Since 1990, its consulting and research specialists have
utilized a diverse mix of primary and secondary research tools and methodologies to assist
companies with strategic brand development, insightful market analysis, consumer profiling, and
much more. NMI’s management team has rich experience, varied industry backgrounds, multiple
product category knowledge, and a high degree of professionalism. This is demonstrated by
unparalleled success with a distinguished list of clients.
Learn more about this report
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