New survey gives insight into who buys organic food

Earthbound Farm surveyed more than 500 shoppers to learn about who is buying organic food, and the company found the organic shopper profile has shifted toward the mainstream.

“Organic should and can be for everyone,” Deverl Maserang, president and CEO of the San Juan Bautista, Calif.-based company, said in a news release. “We’re thrilled that these results show a growing and diverse community of people who choose organic fairly frequently.”

Forty-seven percent of the people surveyed said they buy organic food for their households at least some of the time.

Along with inquiring about the organic purchasing habits of consumers, Earthbound asked them a series of lifestyle questions.

The results indicate that pet owners are more likely to buy organic than people who do not own pets (53% to 37%) and that sports fans are more likely to buy organic than people who say “I don’t do sports” (49% to 41%). Shoppers who say they will listen to any kind of music are the most likely to buy organic, followed by folks who listen to rap or hip hop.

Organic eating occasions

Sixty-seven percent of organic consumers surveyed said dinner is a meal during which they are likely to eat organic, with 62% saying the same for lunch and 56% for breakfast.

Fewer people said they were likely to eat organic when it comes to snacks in the evening (22%), in the afternoon (35%) or in the morning (27%).

However, 71% of shoppers with kids at home said it would be somewhat or very important to them to provide organic food to their child’s classmates or teammates when on snack duty.

Conversely, only 52% of organic consumers reported they would feel the same when hosting a dinner party.

Households with kids

Earthbound’s survey found that people with children at home were more likely to buy organic (52% versus 41%).

Shoppers with younger children appear to place more value on feeding kids organic food.

Forty-three percent of parents with children ages 0-5 said it is very important that they eat organic food, compared with only 29% of parents with children ages 11-18.

Less than a quarter of people with grown children living at home said it is very important for those individuals to eat organic food.

Respondents to the survey indicated that the 3-5 age range is when it is most critical for people to eat organic food.

Organic approach

Twenty-four percent of organic shoppers said they are “loud and proud” about choosing organic, while 10% said they keep their preferences “under the radar” and 66% described themselves as “easygoing” about talking with others about eating organic.

The survey found men were much more likely than women to keep their organic ideals to themselves (18% to 7%).

Shoppers in the south central states (Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana) were most likely to declare themselves “loud and proud” about their organic food choices. Only 8% of organic shoppers in mountain and Pacific states described themselves this way.

Looking ahead

Earthbound’s survey found that 22% of people said the amount of organic food their household eats has increased somewhat in the past year, while 11% said it has grown significantly.

Forty percent of consumers plan to increase their household’s organic consumption in 2019; 11% plan to decrease it.

By far the top reason cited for buying organic food (75%) was that people consider it healthier.