A majority of American households make organic part of their supermarket and retail purchases. The percentages ranged from 68 percent to nearly 80 percent of households in Southern states and nearly hit 90 percent on the West coast and in New England.
“OTA’s consumer survey has already found that organic doesn’t have any demographic boundaries,” said Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director of the association. “This additional data prove it doesn’t have regional or partisan boundaries.”
Sales of organic fruits and vegetables rose 12 percent in 2014 to reach $13 billion, which accounted for 36 percent of all organic food sales. Of all the produce sold in the United States, 12 percent is organic. US sales in the organic dairy sector increased 11 percent to $5.46 billion in 2014.
Organic non-food sales increased nearly 14 percent to $3.2 billion. Total 2014 US organic sales, at $39.1 billion, marked an 11.3 percent climb from 2013.
The Nutrition Business Journalconducted and produced the survey, which took place from Feb. 10 to April 3. More than 200 companies responded. The OTA will make the full survey available in mid-May.
