CHICAGO — A recent Technomic study of organic and natural foods sold in the foodservice channel found solid growth potential. Annual sales of organic and natural products are expected to grow at a 15 to 20 percent compounded-average rate from 2007 to 2010.
Menu offerings with organic and natural ingredients currently represent a small percentage of overall sales, but that percentage is growing rapidly, says to Gary Karp, executive vice president of Technomic Information Services.
"We believe that sales of organic and natural products represent a societal shift and not just a fad," Karp said. "Consumers of organic and natural products acknowledge that they eat these products for health and wellness reasons, but also because they taste better."
Wade Hanson, manager at Technomic, pointed out that an increasing number of organic and/or natural offerings being added to menus provides strong evidence of growing momentum. As organic and natural awareness and education continues to build, Hanson sees "more and more major operators incorporating these foods and beverages into their menu development plans."
The new study was conducted to give operators and manufacturers a general blueprint for capturing available growth in organic and natural products.
