Organic Farming Concept

The organic food industry has seen a huge spike in growth that is expected to continue into the future due to an increase in consumption. This will provide Whole Foods Market with huge opportunities. In addition, a wave of ethical and responsible consumption has swept across America. Whole Foods’ decision to pursue sustainable activities will certainly give consumers an added incentive to purchase its organic products.

Over the last few years, awareness of organic food has risen. Due to this, the demand for organic food is a factor which is influencing the farmers to switch to use this technique, and it is being sold in specialty stores and conventional supermarkets. Organic products contain numerous marketing claims that it is healthier, it offers more value, and the farming is more environmentally friendly than traditional foods, so, how does one determine if organic is the way to go? Some argue that there is evidence that supports and demonstrates why organic foods and farming are better overall, while others insist that conventional foods and agriculture can offer the same benefits as going organic. There is no right or wrong answer. Within this

Sales of organic food have risen steadily over the past couple of years, reaching nearly $30 billion in 2011, or 4.2% of all U.S. food and beverage sales, (Adams). Many people believe that organic foods are ultimately the better choice when it comes to health due to the absence of pesticides and hormones. But other people—especially those whose food budgets may be more defined—wonder if organic food is really worth the inflated price tag. Despite the price, Organic foods are worth producing and consuming rather than conventional foods due to the immense benefits they provide.

Today an increasing desire from consumers is to have healthy and organic product offerings. While

Every aspect of marketing involved in the introduction of Organic food will involve ethics & social responsibility issues. Managers will be encouraged to look beyond and simply "do the right thing"

Now, I would like to discuss the benefits that our organic-based business will offer to our target customers. First, as far as the functional benefits are concerned, one of the key factors is that organic produce offers the consumer a healthier option when it comes to one’s eating habits. In regards to chemicals, organic produce refrains from using any kind of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides or synthetic preservatives and additives. As such, the amounts of hazardous residues within organic foods are basically restricted to the lowest amount (“Organic”, n.d.).

Organic farming began just as the effects of the Great Depression waned in the United States, and has seen a dramatic increase in popularity most recently (AG). The sales of organic food increased by about twenty percent a year throughout the nineteen nineties (Marcus). That is over ten times the rate of increase that conventional food experienced during the same period of time (Harris). As recently as twenty eleven, about seventy-eight percent of American families admitted to routinely purchasing organic food (Organic). Organic food sales jumped from three point five million in nineteen ninety-seven, to thirty-one million in twenty eleven (Organic). However, while organic food may seem better than conventional food, numerous studies have shown that it is not distinguishably more healthful, nutritious, palatable, or safe.

Long time ago, the idea of organic food was something ridiculous, nobody cared. But after proved the nutritional benefits and better taste of organic food, many farmers become interest in grown organic food. The article Beyond Organic by Eliot Coleman said that “Now that the food-buying public has become enthusiastic about organically grown foods, the food industry wants to take over.”

Since 2006, the demand and market for organic food and drinks has been increasing exponentially. The demand for these organic products is growing much faster than the supply. Consumers are more interested in where their food is coming from and how it was made. “The latest data shows organic sales in Canada have tripled since 2006 to 3.7 billion dollars a year.” (Global News). There are not enough farms in Canada that produce and supply organic products to meet the high demand. It takes approximately three years for an average farm to convert to an organic farm. However, the whole farm does not have to be organic, a portion of the farm can be converted to organic while the rest operates the way it was previously. The demand curve has shifted

Rachael L. Dettman in her presentation to the USDA wrote: “Organic produce: Who’s Eating it? A Demographic Profile of Organic Produce Consumers” research suggested that in the post-recession period, organic produce, which is the largest organic sector, is now growing at 15% and the demand for organic foods at large is sharply increasing. (Dettmann, pg. 1). Matt Townsend in his article: “Whole Foods Profit jumps on Demand for Organic Foods” cited Merideth Adler, analyst for Barclays Plc that for the organic market: “sales trends remain strong as it appears that the growth of the natural and organic industry has continued to exceed expectations” (Townsend, pg. 1)

1. Whole Foods philosophy states a value in education and an informed society. They market themselves to a buyer with a slightly higher income and education level because they feel that these people are more conscious of their overall health. The demographics of an area guide’s Whole Foods in the selection process of each location. They seek out highly dense, urban areas that have high foot traffic, where at least 40% of the residents have a college degree. 2. Overall demand for natural and organic products has increased and with that rise in demand, came a rise in competition. As a result of the competition, Whole foods became the first “Certified Organic” grocer by a third party inspector. As many of their competitors continued to follow the guidelines of the USDA’s Organic Rule, Whole Foods was willing to take the extra step to become certified and have their products authenticated. Their hope is to deter consumers from buying the competitor’s products that are not certified and may not even be labeled “USDA Organic.”

Barlow, B., Hemminger, L., and Schlegel, B. (2006). Is Organic Food Worth the Extra Cost? Retrieved from Environmental Health Perspectives website: http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2006/114-2/ss.html

Organic Food is the agricultural produce that farmers make on the country 's regulation and without agricultural chemicals and fertilizer .

USA: According to the Organic Trade Association’s 2016 Organic Industry Survey, U.S Organic Industry has set new heights of $43.3 billion in 2015. Which means $43.3 Billion is spent on organic food every year. According to Tech Sci Research every 3 out of 4 grocery stores sell organic food. Therefore, in total USA have around 20,000 stores that sell organic products. Key competitors in US markets are Whole foods, Kroger, Sprouts, Trader Joe Stores, Wal-Mart; Costco etc. Top key players would be Kroger’s and Whole foods. According to Kroger’s investor conference in Oct 2015Kroger’s has estimated to have sales worth $ 11 billion organic product surpassed only by Whole Foods Market. According to Transparency Market Research, the U.S market is expected to grow at brilliant rate of 15.5% CAGR and rise from a valuation of US$70.70 bn in 2012 to US$187.85 bn by 2019.

New entrants into an industry bring with them the capacity and a desire to successfully achieve market sufficient market share, placing pressure on factors such as prices, costs and the rates of investment required to compete effectively. (Porter, 2008) It is becoming increasingly common within the Organic foodstuff sector for large companies with existing capabilities and large cash flows to enter the market.