OPN Exclusive: Organic Thanksgiving Opportunities

While Thanksgiving conjures images of roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, there are changing shopper preferences in how those items are raised, grown or produced. Every generation, ethnicity and income level has increased spend on organic products, including fresh produce — and that behavior increasingly includes holiday food purchases. 

Organic fresh produce accounted for seven percent of all produce dollars the week of Thanksgiving in 2014, and that figure increased to nine percent last year.  Despite the growth, it still falls below the annual contribution of 10.3 percent, which indicates a continued opportunity to support this trend. 

The Organic Produce Network (OPN), working with data firm Nielsen, looked at the growth of organic fresh produce items during Thanksgiving week and explored where opportunities exist for underdeveloped or under performing items.

According to the OPN, organic pre-packaged salads, apples, carrots and bananas all play important roles in organic produce sales the week of Thanksgiving, with dollar contributions similar to other weeks throughout the year.  On the other hand, organic fresh herbs and spices sales peak with more than $12 million dollars sold the week of Thanksgiving, double its weekly average. Celery, another common and traditional ingredient with important contributions to organic sales, registers 56 percent more organic dollars the week of Thanksgiving than an average week. 

“The demand for organic produce continues to increase from our customers and the holidays provide another opportunity to make sure we are offering key items both conventional and organic.  These organic items can help drive incremental sales and larger baskets sizes during the holiday season,” said Greg Corrigan, senior director of produce and floral, Raley’s Supermarkets.

Greg Corrigan, senior director of produce and floral, Raley’s Supermarkets

Potatoes, another staple of holiday meals, have made strides in recent years with organic now accounting for 3.6 percent of Thanksgiving potato sales; but this area still remains largely under-developed and represents a significant growth opportunity.    

Organic is also under-represented in other Thanksgiving staples such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cooking greens and green beans.  For example, organic represents 12 percent of green bean dollars throughout the year, but that figure dips to seven percent the week of Thanksgiving. Increasing the availability of these options during Thanksgiving could help increase the overall basket size and continue the momentum of organic sales. 

"Organic continues to increase its importance to produce sales at holidays, but it's important to remind shoppers not to forget about their typical organic produce purchases such as packaged salads and berries for snacks and meals the rest of the week,” said Nielsen analyst Matt Lally.

Top 10 Organic Produce Categories Ranked by Dollar Sales Week of Thanksgiving 2017

Nielsen Total Food View, Week ending 11/25/17; 52 week ending 9/15/18