Organics Have Gone Mainstream, Way Beyond Whole Foods
In the U.S., organic food sales blew past $50B in 2018 to reach $52.5B!
With a growth rate of 6.3% vs. 2017, these sales grew almost three times as much as total food sales with a growth rate of 2.3%.
According to the Organic Trade Association, organics represented 5.7% of total food sales in 2018.
Whole Foods is no longer the only place to find organic foods. Most towns have local farmer’s markets now.
And it goes beyond food. Retail stores, from convenience to big box, carry many types of organic products.
It is clear that consumers are engaged and some are willing to spend more to get quality organic products.
But the situation is different when it comes to wine. Consumers are not jumping into the organic wine pool in a big way just yet.
Why Organic Products Are So Popular
Environmental toxins seem to be the cause of 85% of cancers according to The American Cancer Society. This should be enough for consumers to run toward organic products.
In the past, cost was a major barrier, but younger generations have different priorities. Millennials have been leading the way to broader acceptance of organic products.
Driving these demanding consumers is a focus on their health and what goes into and on their bodies. They will make financial trade-offs, so they can afford organic products.
Millennials want high-quality products lacking in chemicals, GMOs, pesticides and preservatives. As a result, more companies are adopting sustainable and transparent practices.
To get younger consumers’ dollars, companies need to show concern for the environment, treating animals humanely, and honestly supporting human health.
High social awareness leads to more disclosure, including product labeling. Consumers want truthful, clear, and complete labels and standards that help them choose the products they want.
The trend is irreversible. But wine lives at the edge of the trend.
Organic, Natural, Biodynamic: Consumer Confusion
Ideas about wine production have changed over 2,000 years and today is no different. From traditional to large scale to biodynamic practices, consumers don’t understand these and how they impact wine.
- In the U.S., organic foods, including their raw materials, must be grown without the use of chemicals or GMOs. They must be certified by the USDA.
For the “100% organic” label, a wine must be made from 100% organically grown grapes. It must be processed with organic ingredients, and contain no chemicals, GMOs or added sulfites. But, the USDA does NOT require the official approval seals on wine labels.
- The term ‘natural’ wine has no official meaning. These are wines made with minimal intervention from organic grapes with nothing added during production.
- Biodynamic wines start with organic farming methods then follow processes and formulas outlined by founder, Rudolf Steiner. His idea of integrative farming and production includes planting in concert with a lunar calendar.
When someone chooses a wine at a grocery store, a restaurant or a liquor store, they don’t have much information. If they want a bottle for dinner, they will grab something quick off the shelf.
This lack of information and understanding is why only 8% of consumers choose organic wine. Only 9% consider ingredients.
Top reasons for choosing a wine are:
- taste - 61%
- quality - 52%
- brand - 47%
- price - 41%
Create an Organic Wine Portfolio that Attracts Customers
At your restaurant or retail store, you want to offer healthy products for your customers to enjoy.
Because taste and quality are the top reasons for choosing a wine, organic wines fit your customers’ needs.
A Journal of Wine Economics study from 2016 stated that “wines certified as organic or biodynamic scored higher in quality tests than conventionally grown wines. The results demonstrated positive and significant correlations between quality scores and eco-certification.”
The downside of this study was that consumers don’t look at wine the way they do food when it comes to organics. The study noted: “these results likely reflect an under-estimation of how organic practices can improve the quality of wine.”
Consumers need education and dialogue to understand and choose organic wines.
If you want to offer your customers the best in healthy and organic wines, find an importer that specializes in these wines such as One Vine Wines. Just look at the back of the wine bottle, as every imported wine is required to have an “Imported By” statement on the label.
We excel at finding these wines, most of which come from Spain, France and Italy. We visit each winery to see their growing and production practices.
"You have to see how these wineries operate in order to evaluate how they process their grapes and confirm that the winemakers and owners are equally concerned about making wines without chemicals," says Greg Martellotto, Owner.
One Vine Wines: Your Best Alternative for Organic Wine
Our commitment is to give consumers what they want. Because of their growing interest in organic wines, we developed the needed expertise.
With our superior portfolio of wines, we offer top-quality, organic wines that will be irresistible to your customers.
Because we are laser-focused on the consumer, our sommeliers and wine experts taste more than 4,500 wines every year. We offer a diversified portfolio of organic wines unavailable elsewhere.
As a nontraditional importer and distributor, One Vine Wines takes an outsider point-of-view. Our “vine to market” approach offers solutions to the challenges and problems in the industry.
One Vine Wines believes in a better way to conduct business in the wholesale wine trade.