NEW YORK — Along with natural food and club stores, farmers' markets are competing more heavily with supermarkets for the specialty food consumer, according to new research from the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade.
Farmers' markets are now the fourth most-favored channel for specialty foods, with 30% of specialty food consumers reporting that they shop there, not far behind the 34% who shop mass and 35% at natural food stores, according to “Today's Specialty Food Consumer 2010,” a Web survey of 1,500 adults conducted in July 2010 by Mintel International and Toluna USA. Supermarkets remain the top channel, with 70% of specialty food consumers shopping the channel.
“Specialty food is everywhere,” Ron Tanner, NASFT's vice president of communications and education, said in a webinar last week.
Increased support of locally produced foods and concerns about food safety are among the reasons for growing interest in farmers' markets, noted David Browne, a senior analyst at Mintel.
The move to farmers' markets comes at a time when more consumers are buying specialty food. In 2010, 63% of respondents reported that they purchase specialty foods, up from 46% in 2009 and 56% percent in 2008. NASFT attributes the increase to consumers reentering the specialty food area after leaving the category due to the recession.
