Fresh Food
By the end of 2018, we will have nearly 2,000 Aldi stores from coast to coast, bringing the Aldi experience — and our fresh and organic produce — to 45 million customers.” —Liz Ruggles, Aldi U.S.
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Produce
organic beverage trend at Natural Grocers. “Personal stories, like Shauna Martin’s story, are also coming to the forefront more and more.” Martin, CEO and founder of Daily Greens, in Austin, Texas, discovered her passion for green juice and its health benefits while battling breast cancer some years ago. “Consumers are aware of how important organic is for their health, and the health of the environment,” says Martin. “The [organic juice] category overall continues to grow — not the crazy growth of a few years ago, but at a steady rate for a more mature category.” Who is the organic green juice consumer? Daily Greens recently hired a consumer research group to find out. “We learned that once people buy Daily Greens, they are super-loyal,” notes Martin. “We also learned that the entire family is drinking it. Our consumer is the whole family, not just the yoga mom.” The research additionally found that education, sampling, accessibility and affordability are essential to increasing sales. A new study from Jacksonville, Fla.-based Acosta Sales & Marketing, “Back to Our Roots: The Rise of the Natural/Organic Shopper,” similarly
| Progressive Grocer | Ahead of What’s Next | March 2017
supports the need for greater education in organic categories. The study notes that while price is still the biggest barrier for natural/organic shoppers, the next significant barrier across all channels is “conflicting information/studies about products.” “Shoppers are confused about exactly what is good for them,” the Acosta study reveals. This makes product labels — a shopper’s No. 1 source of product information — and in-store signage important tools in simplifying the grocery experience. On the price front, Daily Greens works directly with organic farmers to keep costs down. The company’s juices retail for between $3.99 and $4.99, a price point that Martin notes is still “a far better deal” than juicing at home. With the pounds of vegetables per serving clearly touted on bottles of Daily Greens, the message of health is also resonating loudly and clearly.
Banana Boom There’s double-digit growth in organic produce, which is going bananas, among other fruits. “Bananas, berries and salads drive organic velocity,” OTA observes, finding that the organic banana market has reached $165 million, soaring by more than 30