US organic product consumer base remains steady
Organic retail outlets shift from niche to mass market
For the third year in succession, the percentage of US consumers buying organic products has remained steady at around 38 or 39%, according to market research and consulting company TABS Group Inc. And although cosmetics was found to be the lowest penetration category – with just 3% of US consumers buying organic cosmetics as compared to 27% of shoppers buying organic fresh fruit – skin care and hair care were the only two categories to register consecutive years of annual gains.
“We see many fallacious reports that the number of consumers purchasing organic products is growing; our research does not support that conclusion,” comments TABS Group president and founder Kurt Jetta. “The annual incidence of these products has gone from 38.4% to 38.0% to 38.6% from 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively.”
TABS’s research also found that while there was little growth in the buyer count of organic products since last year, there has been a significant shift in outlet patterns towards mass market retailers and away from natural grocers.