Sales of organic produce surge during pandemic

Sales of organic fruits and vegetables have surged during the pandemic, but sales and volume rankings have remained fairly consistent, according to the third-quarter Organic Produce Performance Report released Oct. 21 by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners. 

Packaged salads were the bestselling organic produce item during the third quarter followed by strawberries, apples, blueberries, lettuce, herbs and spices, carrots, bananas, grapes and tomatoes, according to the report.
Those 10 categories accounted for 70% of all organic dollar growth.

Once again, total organic fresh produce sales and volume registered double-digit growth, with July-September sales increasing 16%, and volume up 15% from the same period in 2019.

Bananas remained the volume leader, accounting for 18% of total volume and increasing by 8.3% from the previous year.

“Organic bananas have made huge strides this year,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of the Organic Produce Network.
Seeley cited two reasons for the organic category’s strong performance since March.

“First, people are eating at home more and experimenting with different items, providing a great opportunity to use new/different organic items as ingredients in their meal preparation,” he said.

Organic ginger root, for example, has done well during the pandemic.

Related: Organic share of fresh produce dollar sales reaches 12% in Q3

“Second, given the health/medical crisis we face with COVID, consumers are looking for healthy, nutritious and safe food to eat, and organic fresh produce checks all of the boxes,” Seeley said.

Los Angeles-based 4Earth Farms was trying to understand the impact COVID-19 has had on the organic category, said Mark Munger, vice president of sales and marketing.

“We were fearful that when the pandemic hit that organic (sales) would take a hit,” he said.

That assumption made sense since millions of consumers were laid off or furloughed from their jobs, prompting a return to a value shopping pattern, he said.

“Based on the items that we sell, the organic customers we work with and the conventional customers that we sell organic to, the demand for organic has continued to climb through the pandemic,” Munger said.

That seemed counterintuitive at first, but in the end, people’s concerns about health and the trend to consumers shopping more and eating out less led them “to make choices that best fit their family.”

“I think organics has played in really well to those decisions,” he said.

Chuck Sinks, president of sales and marketing at Sage Fruit Co. LLC, Yakima, Wash., said the pandemic will continue to have an impact on produce sales through at least the remainder of the year.

“COVID is not known to be transferred through food, and as such, we have seen an increase in demand for fresh produce, both organic and conventional,” he said.

Sinks said he also has seen an increase in demand for packaged product since March.

“Packaged items provide less exposure to other shoppers when on the retail shelf,” he said.

“They are also easy for grab-and-go and make for a simple online purchase for those that are participating in grocery pick-up or delivery.” 

Related: USDA organic survey shows big growth

Seeley of the Organic Produce Network expects the organic category to continue to expand.

“As more and more organic items come onto the market place, and companies continue to locate more land and resources for the growing/production of organic fruits and vegetables, the industry will continue to grow,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether that growth will continue at the double-digit pace it maintained for most of the past decade, but organics will continue to grow into 2021 and beyond, he said.

Produce sales increased across the board during the pandemic, Munger said.

“We’ve been pleased to see that organic has not suffered — at least to date — from the challenges that we faced this year,” Munger said.

As growers become more proficient at growing organically, prices drop and the gap between organic and conventional produce narrows, he said.

“That makes organics even more appealing.”

Organic fruits and vegetables may have a leg up during the pandemic, Sinks said.

“Organic produce is often perceived as being a healthier option by the consumer,” he said. “However, all produce is good produce and healthy for the consumer.”  

Related: Organic Produce Network to host online event centered on retailer insights