Nielsen Wire » organic products

Growth Of Organic Sales Slows with Recession

Nielsen Wire — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:59:05 +0000

Organic products – which are often priced at a premium over non-organic products – have taken a sales hit over the last 12 months as consumers have cut back discretionary spending, according to new analysis by Nielsen’s Director of Industry Insights, Tom Pirovano. In March 2008, monthly sales of organic products grew 24 percent; a year later, growth almost came to a standstill of 1 percent, marking a dramatic shift from previous monthly growth rates of more than 30 percent seen in 2005 and 2006.

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“The recession and the resulting uncertainty it has created among Americans has prompted most consumers to look at every dollar they spend,” said Pirovano. “At this point, it appears that cost beats the potential benefits of organic products when shoppers head to the grocery store. It will be interesting to watch if sales of organic products rebound along with the economy, or whether that trend will be a victim of the vast changes affecting consumer behavior.”

As Economy Slumps, Explosive Organics Sales Growth Slows

admin — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 14:52:06 +0000

The troubled U.S. economy may be taking a toll on the growth of organic product sales, according to new data from Nielsen.

After several years of 20% to 30% sales growth, U.S. sales of organic products are showing the first signs of slowing.

While 52-week dollar sales of UPC-coded organics are up 21% vs. last year, the most recent four-week period ending October 4, 2008, shows growth of only 11.2%. Last year, organics saw 27.1% sales growth during the comparable four-week period ending October 6, 2007.

Meanwhile, in Great Britain, organics sales growth has also slowed — to just 4%, year over year, for the most recent year, ending September 6, 2008. In comparison, during the year ending September 8, 2007, organic products saw 18% sales growth in Britain.

Organic products are clearly here to stay, but the days of boundless growth may be over.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in The New York Times.

Sales Of Fast-Growing Organics Beginning To Slow

admin — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:07:11 +0000

In the past four years, organic products have been one of the fastest growing market segments within the food industry, logging growth rates between 13% and 33%.

That trend may now be changing, according to Nielsen, which recently released data showing a slowdown in organic dollar sales and unit sales growth in the four weeks ending Sept. 6.

Dollar sales of organics grew by just 13%, while unit sales grew by 8% in the four weeks between August 9 and Sept. 6, according to Nielsen. In contrast, dollar sales of organic products grew by 23% and 33% in for the same periods in 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Still, during the 52 weeks ending August 9, organic dollar sales totaled $4.7 billion — a 23% increase in dollar sales and a 20% increase in unit sales over the previous 52-week period.

Read the full report, “Is the Organic Sales Explosion Over?”