Organics Industry Prepares for Oct. 21 Curtain Up

October 21 is a watershed day for the U.S. organic industry – it is the day the National Organic Program (NOP) goes into effect. Any business involved in organic products should be preparing now to take advantage of the publicity and use it as a unique opportunity to promote the organic movement.

Beginning October 21, only companies that are certified by U.S. Department of Agriculture accredited certifiers will be able to carry the official USDA organic label.

“This will legitimize organics to a degree that we’ve never known before,” says Theresa Marquez, sales and marketing director for Wisconsin-based Organic Valley Cooperative.

Every company, hopefully, is getting ready now,” says Nancy Hirshberg, vp for natural resources, environment and organic products at Stonyfield Farm in Londonberry, NH. “For Stonyfield, this is a key moment and a key opportunity,” she says. Stonyfield, a leading organic dairy products manufacturer, plans a media and in-store promotional campaign that ranges from placing coupons valued between $50-100 on its yogurt lids to detailed information about NOP on its website.

Hirshberg views October 21 not only as a great marketing opportunity, but as a historic moment in helping people understand the connection between “the environment and the food we eat.”

Organic Valley, a cooperative owned by 50 organic farmers in 15 states, will give away thousands of hamburgers made from certified organic beef. Its Farm Friends Magic Bus will travel from La Farge, Wisconsin to Natural Products Expo East in Washington DC cooking hamburgers all along the way.

Horizon Organic, the largest organic dairy company, launched a $5 million advertising campaign last fall to bring “organics into the mainstream,” says Clark Driftmier, svp Marketing. The company has taken ads in national publications and on billboards across the country, and is the most extensive advertising campaign in the industry to date.

Horizon’s sales were up 25% in 2001 to $127 million, and profits soared by 200%. While natural foods retailers may have been disappointed to see a second year of single-digit growth compared to the double-digit growth throughout the 1990s, the 8.3% growth rate still puts the 0.1% growth of the largest conventional supermarkets to shame. And natural foods as a whole grew by 21% in 2001.

Conventional retailers, of course, are carrying more and more natural/ organic products, increasing by 5.5% in 2001. The Natural Foods Merchandiser Market Overview reports the fastest growing organic categories are:

* nutrition bars – 35%
* food service – 37% (deli, restaurant, juice bars)
* non-dairy beverages – 26%
* snack foods – 29%
* packaged grocery – 23%
* sports supplements: 13.7% (powders, pills, beverages)
* specialty supplements: 15.5% ( eg. Ayurvedic products, hormones, essential fatty acids)
* personal care – 42%
* housewares – 66%
* pet products – 93%

Clearly, the organic industry is on the rise with no top in sight.

NFM Market Overview 2001: [sorry this link is no longer available]