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Profits . . . Naturally: Stores Stocking Up on Organics

Posted on: Sunday, 12 February 2006, 12:00 CST

By Karen Vigil, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

Feb. 12--People want more healthful food. Grocery stores want to sell what people want.

Organic food is becoming a bigger part of the mix.

Consumer demand for organic food products has increased more than 20 percent during the past six years, proof of the growing demand, according to the Natural Marketing Institute.

Also growing is the readership of "MaryJanesFarm" magazine, a no-advertisement publication that bills itself as "one part catalog and two parts magazine."

The publisher, MaryJane Butters, invites readers to tour the Idaho farm, stay at its bed and breakfast and attend its nonprofit farm apprenticeship school.

The magazine's tone is folksy but its mission to eliminate chemical farming and rebuild local communities is not.

And MaryJane's readers and other organic food fans are sounding off with big-dollar purchases.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that the value of retail sales of organic foods in 1999 was approximately $6 billion.

This year, the Natural Marketing Institute expects the organic foods and products industry to reach $83 billion in sales.

Wholesomeness and taste are the reasons people cite most for going organic, said spokeswoman Nancy Flynn of the 22-store chain Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets.

Vitamin Cottage since 1955 has worked to educate "the customer to make informed decisions regarding how to achieve optimal health," Flynn said.

But major grocery chains, too, now are going organic in a big way.

At Safeway stores, Denver spokesman Jeff Stroh said the company recently introduced its brand of organics - O-Organics - "as an extension of our commitment to natural and organic products."

Safeway officials over the past five years have observed that organics and natural products sales in many regions are growing by as much as 20 percent a year, said Stroh.

He said the variety of organic fruits number just under a hundred at Safeway's renovated "lifestyle" stores such as the Pueblo West market.

Stroh said Safeway even has its own organic milk line, and also carries organic "everything," from cereals, crackers, and frozen foods like garden vegetable lasagna, to peanut butter, soy milk, maple syrup and fruit juices. Spokeswoman Donna Eggers of Boise, Idaho-based Albertson's stores said the most-popular organic product for the chain in the Rocky Mountain region is a rice soy beverage.

Next in popularity, she said comes organic breakfast cereals, salty snacks and crackers. Over the past year, though, organic canned fruit and vegetables, along with pasta sauce, have gained the most market share in the Rocky Mountain area, said Eggers.

At Pueblo's Albertsons, shoppers also can find organic vegetables, organic ground beef, and the 100 percent natural Wild Harvest meat, she said.

Trail Daughtery, King Soopers consumer affairs director, said the chain carries hundreds of organic items integrated in sections throughout the stores.

"For example, the 12-foot natural cereal selection is in the regular cereal aisle. This makes it customer friendly so shoppers know where to find it, and can compare prices and ingredients against the regular cereals," he said.

Daughtery said the popularity of organics has grown across "all market demographics" due to education and media attention.

Delia Garcia, Wal-Mart's regional spokeswoman, said the company offers organic clothing and a wide range of organic food products and is "looking at more sustainability efforts" in boosting its environmentally oriented selection.

Garcia, however, said Wal-Mart responds to community demand, meaning that when many customers ask for more organic products, managers will provide them.

At Vitamin Cottage, officials are not upset about the major grocery stores' organic food trend, according to Flynn. She said the family-owned chain can offer many more organic food and personal care products.

"A health food store like Vitamin College will carry a broader selection (than regular grocery stores) because that's our focus," she said.

What is organic food?

- Produce grown by farmers who "emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water."

- Poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.

- Produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering or ionizing radiation.

- Requires that products labeled as "Made with Organic Ingredients" contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients.

Source: U.S. Agriculture Department

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.

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Source: The Pueblo Chieftain

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