New findings from Nielsen released by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) show that 82.3% of America’s 117 million households regularly buy organic.
In the first comprehensive look at organic purchases by households on a state-by-state level, the nationally representative Nielsen study of 100,000 households conducted in 2015 and 2016 reported that more households than ever bought organic food on a regular basis throughout 2016. The national average climbed 3.4 percent from 2015 to 82.3 percent, while in Georgia, the number of households buying organic rose by a solid 4 percent to 81.5 percent. The state showing the biggest jump in households purchasing organic was North Dakota, where 85.6 percent of households participating in the Nielsen study reported buying organic in 2016, up a robust 14.2 percent from 2015.
“These new findings show how important organic has become to millions and millions of American families everywhere”
“These new findings show how important organic has become to millions and millions of American families everywhere – to more than 80 percent of our nation’s 117 million households, more than 80 percent of Georgia’s 3.5 million households, more than 85 percent of North Dakota’s almost 300,000 households,” said Laura Batcha, CEO and executive director of OTA. “The organic community is looking forward to working with the new leadership at USDA. We are eager to show how important adequate funding is to support a strong organic programme and to help organic to continue to become a part of healthy diets of households throughout our nation.”
The Nielsen findings show a number of states in which 90 percent or more of households now buy organic on a regular basis, with even the lowest levels all hovering around 70 percent
Organic food sales in the United States now total around $40 billion annually, and account for around five percent of total food sales in this country. According to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 U.S. Organic Industry Survey, total organic food sales in 2015 were $39.7 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. This spring OTA will be releasing its 2017 industry survey, which will look at the US organic market in 2016.