Near double-digit growth in organic sales highlighted retail sales in the first quarter of 2021, according to a new report from the Organic Produce Network and Category Partners.
According to the report, total organic fresh produce sales for the first quarter of 2021 increased from the same quarter in 2020 and topped $2.2 billion.
Organic fresh produce sales and volume in the first quarter of 2021 maintained a trend established in March of last year, according to the report, with elevated sales across the entire supermarket, as consumers continued at-home eating considering restaurant closures.
The question now, with pandemic shutdowns lessening, is how fast consumers will return to pre-pandemic shopping habits.
“Once again, sales of organic fresh produce continue to be a major growth opportunity for retailers across the country,” Matt Seeley, CEO of Organic Produce Network, said in a news release. “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.”
Organic above trend
Organic produce continues to outshine the total produce department, according to the report. The first quarter 9.3% year-over-year sales growth for organic compares with conventional produce sales growth of 2.9%.
The report said organic fresh produce volume grew by 5.7%, while conventional volume saw a decline of 0.6%, according to the report.
Eight of the top 10 organic commodity categories generated increases in both dollars and volume, with only organic carrots and apples failing to generate year-over-year dollar and volume gains during the first quarter.
The report said 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, the report said.
Top of the chart
Packaged salads remain the single largest driver of organic dollars, the report said, and accounted for 17% of all organic produce sales in the first quarter.
During the first quarter of 2021, packaged salad dollars saw a year-over-year increase of 9.5%.
The first quarter of 2021 was a strong quarter for berries, generating a year-over-year sales increase of 8.8%. Organic berries have become a key winter category, driving over 15% of total organic produce dollars during the first quarter, according to the report.
“Within the top 10 categories, fresh herbs (up 28.2%), lettuce (up 34.7%), and tomatoes (up 14.7%) generated the largest percentage gains in dollars,” Steve Lutz, senior vice president for insights and innovation at Category Partners, said in the release.
“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., according to the report. 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 used Nielsen retail scan data covering total food sales and outlets in the U.S. over the months of January, February and March.
The full Q1 2021 Organic Produce Performance Report is available on the Organic Produce Network website at organicproducenetwork.com/education.