• Wall Street Journal, Monday, July 27, 2009 11 AM

Store-brands accounted for 22.7% of organic food sales for the 52-weeks ended June 13, up from 13.6% for the same period in 2007, according to Nielsen. The lower prices of private-label organics are helping grocers cater to more price-conscious shoppers, Timothy W. Martin writes.

Supervalu, the fourth-largest U.S. food retailer by sales, expanded its Wild Harvest organic brand to 312 items, from 150 last spring. Safeway, the third-largest U.S. food retailer, last fall began selling its organic food brands to other retailers.

"When the economy started slowing, we noticed our [same-store] sales really picked up," says Shon Boney, CEO of Phoenix-based Sprouts Farmers Market, which has significantly expanded its store-brand offerings.

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