According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA)’s most recent survey on the organic industry, sales of organic products in the United States hit $35.1 billion in 2013.
That’s an 11.5% increase from 2012, which saw $31.5 billion in organic sales.
This is the fastest growth rate in organic, in five years.
People who think the demand for organic is nothing more than a “trend” or “fad” are deeply kidding themselves.
Organic is here to stay.
Laura Batcha, executive director and CEO of OTA, says: “The U.S. organic market is experiencing strong expansion, with organic food and farming continuing to gain in popularity. Consumers are making the correlation between what we eat and our health, and that knowledge is spurring heightened consumer interest in organic products.”
Consumers are making the connection.
One by one, people are starting to get it: The quality of our health – and therefore the quality of our lives – relates directly to what we eat.
The days of acting like zombies, tolerating Frankenstein foods, are coming to an end. We are done “kidding” ourselves about our food.
It’s as if an electric socket has been dead for years, and finally somebody is plugged in.
Finally, people are waking up from The Matrix, seeing the truth that everything is connected – food, mind, behavior, body, earth. Once you’re awake, it’s hard to return back to “asleep” again.
That’s why demand for organic will continue growing. It won’t stop until organic is a way of life for everyone on the planet. (I am talking about real organic, not marketers who put deceptive labels on their non-organic products.)
We have a lot of work to do before that happens, but I do believe organic will become the norm.
One of the biggest challenges the organic industry faces is simply keeping up with demand.
Like the Road Runner elusively darting away from the coyote, U.S. demand for organic has outpaced supply for at least the past decade.
Unlike the poor coyote, how can we “smarten up” so we can continually meet the demand?
Start by focusing on increasing your own organization’s productivity and efficiency at every level of the game.
Begin with an honest assessment of yourself.
- Do you have any beliefs or attitudes that may be slowing you down?
- Are you stuck doing things a certain way, or could there be a better way?
- Do you allow yourself to get distracted by the bad behavior of others in the industry?
- Or are you focusing mostly on building/developing your own success?
Then work upwards.
- Are there any policies or procedures that are slowing your team down (i.e., employees, contractors, etc.)?
- Do you have a Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual in place? Has it been updated in the past year?
- Could your SOP be clearer? More succinct? More informative?
- Is a lack of clarity somewhere causing your people to get confused, which ultimately slows the down their productivity?
And finally, examine if there is anything slowing down your customers from ordering and re-ordering your products.
- Do your Customer FAQs need sprucing up? (Do you even have FAQs?)
- Are your order pages clear and succinct?
- Are your product descriptions laser sharp and enticing?
The more distracted you are handling the byproducts of confusing or unclear policies or procedures, the less time you have to meet the growing demand of organic consumers.
About the Author
Michelle Lopez is a copywriter and marketing consultant for organic/natural product companies with a strong message and mission. She helps independent companies strengthen their marketing efforts, improve their sales copy, reach more people, sell more products online, and create lifelong fans. Michelle is also the host and creator of The Organic CEO podcast, available on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.
Sources
“Organic sales break $35 billion” – May 14, 2014 – http://newhope360.com/breaking-news/organic-sales-break-35-billion
“Helping farmers meet demand for the growing organic market” – Jan 23, 2015 – http://newhope360.com/managing-your-business/helping-farmers-meet-demand-growing-organic-market
Michelle Lopez is a writer, editor, and copywriter with a BA in English/Creative Writing from the University of Colorado at Boulder.