FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nancy White
The Natural Marketing Institute
215.513.7300 ext. 225
Nancy.White@NMIsolutions.com

Organic Foods & Beverages: The Consumer Conundrum

Harleysville, Pa. (December 2005) – The Natural Marketing Institute (NMI), the leading provider of strategic consulting, consumer insights and market research services across various health and wellness industries, today expanded on one of the trends it has identified as having a significant impact on the health and wellness marketplace. This trend is tenth in the series of NMI’s Top Ten Trends of 2005.

Trend #10: The Organic Market: Finding the Real Value Proposition
Despite double-digit growth across the organic food and beverage marketplace, there is still a need for increased consumer understanding, especially related to the specific benefits of using organics.

According to NMI’s 2004 Health & Wellness Trends Database™, consumers have a general understanding of the characteristics of organic foods and beverages. Almost two thirds (or 63%) are aware that organic foods and beverages are grown without chemical pesticides and 55% are aware that they do not contain artificial ingredients. Over the last four years, consumers’ knowledge in this area has shown little or no significant increase. The data also reveal that consumers are more desiring of organic food/beverages than they are of the overall benefits of organics.

According to Maryellen Molyneaux, President of NMI, “While half (52%) of consumers feel that organic food/beverages are safer for the environment, consumers are less likely to agree that organic foods and beverages are more nutritious. This represents tremendous opportunity for the organic industry. Informing today’s consumers about the features and benefits of organic foods and beverages can only help to improve the perceptions of organic and convert non-users to users.”

More in-depth analysis of the organic marketplace is explored in the 2005 Organic Consumer Trends Report™, including information on NMI’s four distinct organic consumer segments – Devoteds, Temperates, Dabblers and Reluctants. Temperates and Devoteds together represent 90% of all organic spending and represent the most opportunistic groups that manufacturers need to reach. Attitudes and understanding, market behavior, foods and beverages, personal care and much more are also examined. A table of contents and more information is available at http://www.nmisolutions.com/r_organic.html.

NMI’s 2005 Health & Wellness Trends Report TM (HWTR) contains more information on this trend, including chapters on foods and beverages and natural and organic personal care. To review a table of contents or to order the report, please visit the NMI website at: http://www.nmisolutions.com/r_hwt_toc.html.

NMI’s Health & Wellness Trends DatabaseTM (HWTD) and other proprietary data sources, can provide a wealth of insight for companies in the health and wellness marketplace. For more information on the HWTD, or NMI’s other consumer databases, contact NMI or visit our website at http://www.nmisolutions.com/tools.html.

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NMI is a strategic consulting, market research, and business development company specializing in the health, wellness, and sustainable marketplace. For more information on NMI’s other proprietary research reports and services, visit NMI’s web site at www.NMIsolutions.com.

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