• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, October 17, 2007

Organic Food Consumers Also Big on Wine and Imported Beer

According to a recent analysis from Scarborough Research, the West Coast is a stronghold for organics consumers. Out of the 79 local markets measured, 23 were identified as organics markets (those markets that have an above-average percentage of organics consumers). Of these 23 organics markets, more than half are in the Western census region, more than one-quarter are in the Southern census region, three cities are in the Northeast, and one is in the Midwest

The study finds that 35 percent of San Francisco adults used organic foods during the past month, making it the top U.S. city for organics users (adults who used any organic food product in their household during the past month). In the total US.,17 percent of all adults are organics users.

• 32 percent of Seattle adults used organic foods during the past month
• Portland, OR (27 percent)
• Washington D.C. (26 percent)
• Denver (26 percent)
• San Diego (24 percent)

Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser agency services, Scarborough Research, said "The top five markets for organics consumers have youth, higher than average annual household incomes, and a fitness mentality in common... it makes sense that these are the top markets for organics users... however, the industry should keep an eye on the Southern region of the U.S."

Nationally, organics consumers spend an average of $127 on their weekly household grocery bill - that is 10 percent higher than the national norm of $115, says the report. The annual household income of the organics consumer is $86,000/year, 22 percent higher than the national average. Organics consumers are 19 percent more likely than the national average to be ages 18-34 and 13 percent more likely to have two or more children at home.

Whole Foods has the highest concentration of organics consumers in their aisles. Organics consumers are 272 percent more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Whole Foods during the past week. By contrast, they are 21 percent less likely to have shopped Wal-Mart Supercenter during this timeframe.

Wal-Mart Supercenter, is, however, the top grocery store for organics users. Twenty-nine percent of organics consumers shopped Wal-Mart Supercenter during the past week. Other grocery stores that have a higher than average concentration of organics consumers include:

• Trader Joe's (organics consumers are 180 percent more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Trader Joe's during the past week)
• Safeway (72 percent more likely)
• Costco (70 percent more likely)
• SuperTarget (50 percent more likely)

Wine and imported beer may be leading beverage categories to promote to organics users, concludes the report. One in four organics users aged 21+ bought wine at a grocery store during the past month, and they are more likely than the total 21+ market to have bought all types of wine - from sparkling and white wines to reds and roses. And, 31 percent of organics shoppers drank an imported beer during the past month, versus 20 percent of the total 21+ adult population. Organics consumers are 24 percent more likely to have bought beer at a grocery store during the past month.

To download the full local market ranking, please visit Scarborough here.