While we’re still fuming from a study by Stanford researchers , news from the market research firm SPINS reminds us once again that consumers often ‘speak’ and think with greater clarity than the increasingly hazy world of science not to mention what brand managers in Northfield, Illinois, Battle Creek, Michigan and Purchase, New York would like us to think.
SPINS data for 2012 shows natural retailers continuing to post strong double digit growth. For the 12 week period ending August 4th, 2012 retailers in the SPINS sample averaged 15% growth suggesting that 2012 sales growth could surpass 2011, which had growth of 14.5%.
Of course if you’re not a brand manager, own stock in Whole Foods or are an investment advisor you might be wondering who cares? From NBN’s view of the retail forest this data shows that when it comes to food, consumers with the ability to choose, choose natural and organic. While still a tiny percentage of overall food sales, its worth remembering that sometimes the consumer drives businesses to act and not the other way around. If it were up to the giant CPG companies, they’d be happy to sell us nothing more than genetically modified food starch in a variety of shapes and colors with just enough added fiber to call it whole grain. Okay maybe somebody at this website needs to tone down the snakiness, but you get the drift no matter how overstated. Luckily for us, the choices are greater.
EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: NBN’s founder and editor Matt Levine worked at SPINS from 1998 through 2005.