Organic Retail Trends: By the Numbers

On the retail front, some may be surprised to learn wholesale club Costco surpassed Whole Foods as the largest organic retailer back in 2016 possessing around 10 percent of the U.S. market.

When it comes to the products themselves, notably food, fresh fruit and vegetables top the list of organic purchases.

Consumers are also seeking more convenience, like fresh-cut and prepackaged organic items. For the 52 weeks ended December 29, 2018, prepackaged salads topped Nielsen’s bestselling organic produce list with $1.12 billion in sales, an increase of 5.3 percent over the prior year.

For fruits and vegetables, apples rose 6.4 percent and carrots 3.5 percent in sales to $393 and $340 million, respectively. The biggest rise in organic sales belonged to antioxidant superstar blueberries—up 33 percent to $256 million.