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• Lin, B
• Huang, CL.
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Sustainability 2009, 1(3), 573-591; doi:10.3390/su1030573

Article

Growth and Development in the U.S. Retail Organic Food Sector

Travis A. Smith ^1,* , Biing-Hwan Lin ¹  and Chung L. Huang ²

¹ Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1800 M Street NW, Washington, DC, 20036-5831, USA ² Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics, 313-E Conner Hall, The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602-7509, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 17 July 2009 / Accepted: 29 August 2009 / Published: 3 September 2009

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Renewable Agriculture)

Download PDF Full-Text [328 KB, uploaded 2 September 2009 15:26 CEST]

Abstract: This study uses retail purchase data reported by the Nielsen Homescan panel to examine the development of selected U.S. organic food sectors since the implementation of the National Organic Standards. Results show that organic market shares within the fresh fruit and vegetable sectors grew slightly in 2003–2006. Apples, bananas, carrots, and tomatoes prove to have the highest share of organic sales within their sectors. The share of organic milk sales attributed to private labels has increased from 12 to 32 percent in 2004–2007. The organic market share within the strained baby food sector almost doubled from 8 to 15 percent in 2004–2007. Findings show a demographically diverse group of consumers willing to expend their food dollars on organic foods.

Keywords: national organic standards; Nielsen Homescan; fresh fruits and vegetables; produce; milk; baby foods

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