• by Julie Michaelson , Columnist, March 13, 2015

I can remember when I started scanning food labels for the word “organic.” My daughter was about six months old and just beginning to try solid food. Like many moms, I wanted to be sure she was getting the safest, healthiest food possible, so I started buying organic yogurt and baby food. Looking for that organic label became a habit, and now that my kids are seven and ten years old, I still buy organic snacks and milk for them.

A Growing Trend

It turns out I’m not alone in my organic buying habits. Our just-released 2015 State of Modern Motherhood report shows two interesting trends: 

• When women become moms, 63% of them change their grocery, food, and beverage purchase criteria. The biggest change? They start buying organic.

• Moms today are nearly twice as likely to buy organic food for their kids as they were in 2009.

We wanted to know more about this growing interest in organic food, so we looked at the Organic Trade Association’s “US Families' Organic Attitudes and Beliefs 2015 Tracking Study.” It found that nearly half of U.S. families are “very familiar” with the organic seal — an increase from just 27% six years ago. Nearly 70% of parents say they are extremely well informed or at least know “quite a bit” about organic products. Growing familiarity, combined with a steadily improving economy, is translating into a significant increase in the purchase of organic products. 

The trend isn’t limited to food. Our study found that 41% of moms use natural remedies for their children when they are sick, and 33% avoid synthetic ingredients in personal products.

Marketers Are Taking Notice — and Taking Action

Since the transition to motherhood clearly marks a transition to buying organic products, savvy brands and retailers are focusing their marketing efforts on new moms. At least one organic yogurt maker is a great example of this, with products designed specifically for babies, toddlers, and kids. They recently teamed up with us to provide content that educates moms about infants’ nutritional needs, with plans to continue the messaging through the six-month milestone, first birthday, toddlerhood, and then to preschool and beyond. The campaign will include video pre-roll, email, branded content, and mobile media, as well as new apps and contests that will roll out later in the year.

Timing Is Everything

Marketers can follow their example not just by targeting new moms, but by providing stage-based messaging. Kids’ nutritional needs change constantly during the first few years of their life, and moms are looking for reliable content to help them navigate each developmental milestone. By partnering with a content provider to deliver your message to the right moms at the right time, you can maximize your marketing investment and position yourself as a trusted brand that really “gets” what Mom is going through. And that means kids won’t be the only ones getting healthier — your brand will, too.