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Organic fresh produce sales growth tails off in 2021

Sector continues to outpace performance of conventional produce market

Russell Redman

January 28, 2022

5 Min Read
Kings Food Markets-organic produce.jpg
U.S. sales of organic fresh produce topped $9 billion for the first time in 2021, up 5.5% versus a 1.9% uptick for conventional produce, the Organic Produce Network reported.Kings Food Markets

U.S. sales of organic fresh produce surpassed $9 billion for 2021, the first time the market has reached that mark, but didn’t match the double-digit gain from the previous year.

Organic fresh produce sales totaled $9.22 billion last year, up 5.5% from $8.54 billion in 2020, when the market grew 14.2%, according to the 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report, released this week by the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners. The dollar sales growth gave organic produce a 12% share of the overall fresh produce market, with conventional fresh produce dollar sales edging up 1.9% in 2021 for an 88% share.

By volume, organic fresh produce unit sales rose about 2% to 3.09 billion in 2021, for a 7% unit market share, following a 16% gain in units for 2020. Unit volume for conventional fresh produce, meanwhile, declined 3.3% for a 93% share.

OPN 2021 organic fresh produce sales-dollars-units.png

In terms of fresh produce market share, organic saw only slight growth in 2021 versus 2020, when the segment had a 12% dollar share and a 6.6% unit share. The 2021 OPN report reflects January-to-December Nielsen retail scan data covering total U.S. food sales and outlets.

“It is very apparent that consumer supermarket food purchases the past year reflected more traditional buying trends as compared to the COVID-inspired purchasing changes we saw in 2020,” Matt Seeley, CEO of the Organic Produce Network, a Monterey, Calif.-based marketing organization, said in a statement. “At the same time, we saw many organic fresh produce categories continue to show solid growth as part of the longer-term trend of consumers moving to organic produce and, in turn, growing organic’s share of market.”

Related:Packaged salads and fresh produce have retailers seeing green

Three categories — packaged salads, berries and apples — accounted for 40% of dollar sales and two-thirds of all organic fresh produce dollar growth in 2021. Among the top 10 categories, berries, lettuce and citrus posted double-digit dollar sales growth. Grapes and avocados were among the top 10 categories in 2020 but not in 2021, which saw carrots and lettuce climb into the largest 10 segments.

OPN 2021 organic fresh produce sales-categories dollars.png

The largest categories by dollar sales last year were packaged salads at about $1.55 billion ( 3.2%), berries at nearly $1.48 billion ( 13.9%), apples at $664 million ( 6.3%), herbs and spices at $473 million ( 5.4%), and carrots at $430 million (-1.3%).

Rounding out the top 10 organic fresh produce categories were lettuce at $421 million ( 10.2%), bananas at $391 million ( 4%), tomatoes at $326 million ( 2.3%), potatoes at $292 million ( 1.1%) and citrus at $258 million ( 10.6%).

Related:Local, organic help drive produce sales

In 2021, packaged salads again had one of the highest organic price premiums, at $3.11 per pound over their conventional counterparts. Organic berries showed sizable price premiums versus conventional berries, at $3.01 per pound for blackberries $2.18 per pound for blueberries and $2.52 per pound for raspberries. Conversely, bananas had one of the smallest price premiums for organic, at 15 cents per pound versus conventional bananas.

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“While a gap remains in the average retail price per pound between organic and conventional, the price increases in both categories last year were remarkably similar,” according to Steve Lutz, senior vice president of Insights and Innovation at Category Partners, a perishables market researcher based in Idaho Falls, Idaho. “The average retail for conventional increased by 8 cents per pound to $1.57 per pound, while organic increased from 9.4 cents per pound to $2.97 per pound. Granted, the percentage increase in organic [was] smaller, but the aggregate change was very close.”

By unit sales, the biggest organic fresh produce categories in 2021 were bananas at 547 million ( 3.4%), carrots at 271 million (-4.4%), apples at 270 million (-2.7%), berries at 239 million ( 10.2%) and packaged salads at 214 million ( 0.9%).

The berries, watermelon and citrus categories proved to be the main organic produce growth catalysts in unit volume last year, OPN noted. Four of the top 10 organic produce categories experienced unit declines, including carrots, apples, potatoes, and herbs and spices. 

The balance of the 10 largest organic produce categories by units were potatoes at 171 million (-3.3%), lettuce at 124 million ( 8%), onions at 111 million ( 0.9%), citrus at 110 million ( 13.4%), and herbs and spices at 80 million (-2.7%).

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All four geographic regions of the country saw modest single-digit dollar sales growth for organic fresh produce during 2021, led by the South at $2.86 billion ( 7.6%) and followed by the West at $2.81 billion ( 3.6%), Northeast at $2.13 billion ( 5.9%) and Midwest at $1.42 billion ( 4.4%). The South also set the pace in unit sales growth at 4.3%, followed by the Northeast at 1.7% and Midwest at 1%. Unit volume for organic produce was flat in the West.

OPN added that the 2021 fourth quarter marked the eighth straight quarter of organic fresh produce sales growth, up 4.9% year over year to $2.7 billion. Organic berries led way in dollars and units, with gains of 22% and 19% respectively.

“Sales of organic produce in 2021, while up a bit less than expected, remain on par with the historical long-term growth trends we have come to expect for organic produce,” Lutz observed. “As the foodservice sector reopened, consumers began to shift some meals back to foodservice channels. The net result in 2021 is many produce categories, especially vegetables, had weaker growth when matched against 2020.”

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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