Organic food sales in the U.S. reached a new high-water mark last year of $61.7 billion, growing 4.3%, according to the Organic Trade Association’s (OTA) 2023 Organic Industry Survey.

Total organic sales, including non-food products, reached a record $67.6 billion despite inflation pressures and consumer pullback on spending, supply chain disruptions, competing food labels in the grocery aisles, and a labor shortage that organic producers felt acutely.

Organic supplement sales held steady with sales around $2 billion.

Inflation led to cost increases across the organic supply chain, pushing up prices in grocery stores. As a result the value of organic sales rose even as volume growth slipped in some categories, according to OTA. Certified Organic now accounts for 6% of total food sales in the U.S. 

“Organic has proven it can withstand short-term economic storms,” said Organic Trade Association CEO Tom Chapman. “Despite the fluctuation of any given moment, Americans are still investing in their personal health, and, with increasing interest, in the environment; organic is the answer. Organic’s fundamental values remain strong, and consumers have demonstrated they will come back time and again because the organic system is verified, and better for people, the planet, and the economy.” 

Produce Leads

Sales of organic produce totaled $22 billion, accounting for 15% of all fruit and vegetable sales in the U.S.

Organic beverages were the second best-selling organic category, reporting $9 billion in sales in 2022, up 4%. Organic coffee maintained its position as the biggest-selling organic beverage, up almost 7% from the year before, with close to $2.3 billion in sales. Organic soft drinks and enhanced drinks reached $503 million in sales on nearly 14% growth.

“Organic beverages continue to climb. They’re an area where shoppers are willing to experiment and are less price sensitive,” noted Angela Jagiello, director of education and insights for OTA and coordinator of the annual survey. “Soft and enhanced drinks had a great year, with the non-alcoholic trend being a big contributing factor. Many younger shoppers are reducing or eliminating alcohol, and these organic beverages are a celebratory and sophisticated alternative.” 

The third highest-selling organic category was dairy and eggs at $7.9 billion, up over 7% from the previous year. Organic dairy and eggs now constitute close to 8% of the total dairy and egg market, according to OTA. Continued demand and inflationary price increases helped boost the dollar sales in that category; yogurt and eggs both saw double-digit growth, with organic yogurt sales up more than 12% to $1.5 billion, and organic egg sales by 11% to around $1.2 billion. 

Growth Factors

While the pace of growth pace for organic sales has slowed from the 12% rate in 2020 (about 2% in 2021), a range of organic product categories demonstrated significant growth For example, organic baby food and formula sales were up almost 13% to $1.4 billion; sales of organic rice, grains, and potato products were up over 10% to $387 million; organic dip sales were up 18% to $194 million; and sales of organic pork were up more than 10% to $63 million.  

In the organic non-food category, sales of organic linens and clothing accounted for about 40% of sales, recording $2.4 billion in sales for a gain of 2.5%.

Organic personal care products rose more than 5% to $1.2 billion. 

The Future of Organic 

In the last 10 years, organic sales have more than doubled as Americans are eating and using more organic products than ever before, OTA noted. Total organic sales broke through the $50 billion mark for the first time in 2018, and organic food sales hit $50 billion for the first time just a few years ago in 2019.  

“Organic is at that right intersection of environmental and personal health,” said Chapman. “Organic brings together the interest in human health and a healthy environment, and that offers organic a positive pathway forward and will help organic businesses withstand challenges in the future.” 

This year’s survey was conducted early in 2023 from January 13 through April 4 and was produced on behalf of the Organic Trade Association by Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ).