Survey: Nearly 1 in 3 artichoke consumers report buying organic only

Editor's note: The following report is from The Packer’s Organic Fresh Trends 2024, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.

The Packer’s Organic Fresh Trends 2024 reveals that 30% of consumers said they shop only for organic artichokes, compared with 42% who indicated they buy conventional artichokes. Twenty-two percent indicated they purchase both conventional and organic artichokes, and 7% of those polled said they were unsure what type of artichokes they purchased.

Higher-income consumers more frequently reported shopping exclusively for organic artichokes, with Organic Fresh Trends data showing that 34% of consumer households making more than $100,000 annually said they did so, compared with 19% for households making $25,000 to $49,999 a year.

Overall, Organic Fresh Trends data shows younger shoppers, higher-income households, those with more kids at home, ethnic minorities, and consumers in the South and Midwest reported the highest organic artichoke purchase rates.

Retail sales data from Circana indicated that 2022 experienced lower organic artichoke sales compared with 2021. Organic artichoke sales were pegged at $1.8 million, down nearly 20% from 2021. The number of organic artichoke pounds sold totaled 450,201, down 16% from 2021. The average price per pound for organic artichokes was $4.01 in 2022, down 4.6% compared with the previous year.   

Organic artichokes accounted for about 3% of total retail artichokes sales in 2022, according to Circana data.

More info from Organic Fresh Trends 2024

Organic retail sales — Artichokes 2022

• Pounds sold: 450,201
• Average price per pound: $4.01
• Retail sales: $1.8 million
• Percent of organic produce sales: less than 1%
• Organic percent of retail artichoke sales: 3%
• Change in sales from last year: -20%

Source: Circana

Organic purchasing patterns of artichokes

• Organic only: 30%
• Organic at least some of the time: 52%*

*Includes consumers who purchase only organic artichokes and those who purchase a combination of both organic and conventional artichokes.

Reported ORGANIC ONLY purchase by household income*

• $100k+: 34%
• $50k<$100k: 32%
• $25k<$50k: 19%
• Less than $25k: 29%

*Figures based on annual household income

Reported ORGANIC ONLY purchase by presence of children

• 1 kid: 40%
• 2 kids: 33%
• 3 or more kids: 40%
• No kids: 24%

Reported ORGANIC ONLY purchase by region

• South: 39%
• Midwest: 38%
• Northeast: 19%
• West: 17%

Reported ORGANIC ONLY purchase by age*

• 18-29:  48%
• 30-39: 35%
• 40-49:  33%
• 50-59: 27%
• 60+: 0%

*Considering primary household buyers