Kale brings a steady following when it comes to organic purchases. The leafy greens were the No. 1 item that shoppers purchased as organic—both periodically and exclusively again this year. Nearly half of all kale buyers (48%) said they chose organic product at least some of the time, and nearly a quarter (23%) said they always selected organic kale.
Organic kale represented about 46% of kale retail sales, according to IRI. Organic kale accounted for more than $103 in sales in 2020.
Affluent shoppers were undoubtedly more likely to buy organic kale than those in lower income brackets, according to Organic Fresh Trends 2022. In fact, shoppers earning more than $100,000 annually were nearly three times as likely to choose organic product than those in the lowest income bracket.
Not surprisingly, shoppers living in the South where kale is staple commodity were much more likely to always buy organic kale than those in other regions. Westerners—the second most likely region to choose organic—were twice as likely to select organic product than those living in the Midwest and Northeast.
Fortysomethings were more apt to buy organic kale at least some of the time, followed by shoppers in their twenties and thirties. Older consumers were less likely to buy.
Asian shoppers favored organic kale more than those of other ethnicities; they were more than twice as likely to always choose organic as Hispanics and “other” ethnicities, and nearly four times more likely to buy organic kale than Black shoppers.
