ORGANIC FOOD CONTINUES MOVE INTO MAINSTREAM

WASHINGTON -- A growing number of consumers are turning to organic products in an effort to achieve more balanced health and nutrition, according to a new white paper, Organic Shoppers May Not Be Who You Think They Are, issued by the Food Marketing Institute here. The study is based on data contained in FMI's Trends in the United States: Consumer Attitudes & the Supermarket, 2001.

available in the stores and thus we have seen a sharp increase in their popularity.

"While most retailers used to view organic shoppers as a small group of individuals who were considered more nature-conscious and earthy, we see that today's organic consumers comprise about one-third of all shoppers and represent nearly half of all grocery shoppers in stores that carry organic products."

According to the report, organic and non-organic shoppers both share and differ in their shopping preferences. However, the key differences can be seen among organic consumers in:

Organic shoppers rank high-quality fruits and vegetables as the No. 1 factor in choosing a primary grocery store (90%), while non-organic shoppers chose a clean/neat store as their top factor (88%).

Organic shoppers earn a high annual income (35% make over $50,000 annually) and spend more money on groceries ($81 on average per week).

Organic shoppers are usually more educated (61% have some college experience and 10% have postgraduate degrees).

In addition, organic shoppers are likely to be women who work outside the home more than 20 hours per week (45%), and the largest percentage of these shoppers are between the ages of 25 and 39 (31%).

Of the 1,000 males and females surveyed for the report, 69% report that their primary store offers natural or organic foods. In the East, 77% said their primary store carried organic products, compared with 76% in the West, 70% in the South and 58% in the Midwest. Suburban and urban shoppers also reported the highest percentages of natural or organic foods in their primary store, 76% and 73%, respectively.

"The Pacific Coast, the Northeast and college towns remain the most fertile markets for sales of organic products, but other regions of the country are experiencing the fastest rate of growth," said Jones.

Organic shoppers remain loyal in their shopping habits, only visiting an average of 2.5 grocery stores a month. In contrast, non-organic shoppers visit an average of 3.1 grocery stores in a month.

Perhaps the most significant difference between organic and non-organic shoppers is their use of shortcuts, such as bagged salads, precut and cleaned vegetables, or marinated meats. Forty-five percent of organic shoppers use these shortcuts at least once a week, compared with 37% of non-organic shoppers.

Although they use shortcuts, organic shoppers tend to eat home-cooked meals more often than non-organic shoppers. In fact, 41% of organic shoppers say that they eat home-cooked mails almost every time they eat, compared with only 30% of non-organic shoppers.

Organic shoppers also eat out less often, according to the study. The largest percentage of organic shoppers (40%) eats out at full-service restaurants only one to three times a month. Only 31% eat out one or two times a week.