Organic 2006: Consumer Attitudes & Behavior, Five Years Later & Into the Future

Organic 2006 is The Hartman Group's sixth focused report on consumer participation in the organic products market. This report integrates new primary quantitative and qualitative research findings and builds upon more than 15 years of consumer research in the organic category. The report documents lifestyle, shopping, purchase and usage habits of American consumers with regard to organics and finds that today, as organic products increasingly enter mass-market channels, almost three-quarters of the U.S. population buy organic products at least occasionally. At the core of the market, 23% of U.S. consumers buy organic products on a regular (at least weekly) basis.

Report Overview

Specifically, the report provides comprehensive analysis of attitudes and behavior by organic consumer segment, as well as insights on perceptions and language about organics, motivators and barriers to purchase, pricing factors, purchase and use by channel, and consumer familiarity and usage of over 60 organic brands.

Sample findings include

• Channels: Compared to five years ago, consumers are much more likely to use natural food stores to purchase organic foods and beverages: 29% were doing so in 2000, while nearly half (49%) are doing so today. Furthermore, while using grocery stores for organic purchases has fallen somewhat (from 63% of consumers in 2000 to 58% in 2005), using supercenter/discount stores for organics has increased (from 9% to 15%).
• Demographics: Compared to the general population, two ethnic and racial groups are somewhat more likely to purchase organics: Asian Americans and Latino/Hispanic Americans. Latino/Hispanic Americans and African Americans are much more likely than Caucasians to be Core organic consumers.
• Emerging usage theme: In both quantitative and qualitative research, one of the strongest concerns expressed by consumers compared to five years ago is the impact of additional hormones in food products and their effect on childrenÕs health.

As a combination of the latest ethnographic and quantitative research methods, Organics 2006 provides vivid insights on the various aspects of how consumers live, shop and use organic products and brands.

By combining the latest ethnographic and quantitative research methods, this report's findings provide key insights for manufacturers and retailers on the ongoing cultural adoption of organic products as the category expands into the mainstream.