Total organic fresh produce sales for the first quarter of 2021 saw a continuation of last year’s growth, increasing by 9.3% from the same period in 2020 and topping $2.2 billion for the quarter, according to the Q1 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report released exclusively by Organic Produce Network (OPN) and Category Partners.
Organic fresh produce sales and volume in the first quarter of 2021 maintained a trend established in March of last year, with elevated sales in supermarkets, as consumers continued at-home eating in light of restaurant closures. However, moving into the second quarter of 2021, the pandemic closures are beginning to ease, and the question has now become if—and how fast—consumers will return to their pre-Pandemic, food-purchasing behaviors.
The 9.3% year-over-year sales growth of organic fresh produce for the first quarter of 2021 outpaced conventional produce sales, which grew by only 2.9%. Organic fresh produce volume grew by 5.7%, while conventional volume saw a decline of 0.6%.
The top 10 organic produce categories continued to perform very well, with eight of the top 10 categories generating increases in both dollars and volume. Of these top 10 categories, only organic carrots and apples failed to generate year-over-year dollar and volume gains during the first quarter.
The top 10 organic categories drove 72% of total organic volume and 70% of total organic sales. In conventional produce, these same categories drive only 64% of total sales and 67% of volume.
“Once again, sales of organic fresh produce continue to be a major growth opportunity for retailers across the country,” said Matt Seeley, CEO of OPN. “At the same time, as the country enters a post-Covid environment, with restaurants reopening and other foodservice options available, it appears the double-digit growth rate will be slowing.”
Packaged salads remain the single largest driver of organic dollars, accounting for 17% of all organic sales. During the first quarter of 2021, packaged salad dollars saw a year-over-year increase of 9.5%. Organic berries have become a key winter category, driving over 15% of total organic produce dollars during the first quarter. The first quarter of 2021 was a strong quarter for berries, generating a year-over-year sales increase of 8.8%.
“Within the top 10 categories, fresh herbs (+28.2%), lettuce (+34.7%), and tomatoes (+14.7%) generated the largest percentage gains in dollars,” said Steve Lutz, senior vice president for insights and innovation at Category Partners. “In terms of Q1 volume, bananas, carrots, and apples rank as the top drivers of organic volume at retail, generating a remarkable 37% of total organic volume. Bananas alone drive 17% of all organic volume.”
Year-over-year organic sales and volume increases during the first quarter of 2021 were strong in every region of the U.S. The West and Northeast are historically the strongest regions for organic produce sales and the two regions generated the highest increases in dollar growth.
The Q1 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report utilized Nielsen retail scan data covering total food sales and outlets in the US over the months of January, February, and March. The full Q1 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report is available here.
people WANT to buy fresh produce that has not been sprayed by toxics. This is further proof that STAFF OF LIFE was right to locate their second supermarket in Watsonville. and it completely validates the new farmers’ market in Ramsay Park.
let us work to get ALL local farmers to go organic. the only thing we can save is our lives and our quality of life in our community.