Culinology - December 2021 - 10

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EMERGING trends
Natural and organic sales approaching $300 billion
The natural products industry has the size, scale and
influence to create positive impact for people and the
planet, said Carlotta Mast, senior vice president at New
Hope Network.
Sales of natural and organic products, including food
and beverage, supplements, household and personal
care categories, are on track to surpass $300 billion
by 2023 and $400 billion by 2030, Ms. Mast said,
citing Nutrition Business Journal estimates, during a
presentation at Natural Products Expo East in September
in Philadelphia.
Demand has eased from the spike that occurred in
2020, when consumers stockpiled groceries during the
early pandemic period. Still, growth remains robust as
consumer habits over the past year
changed in favor of the natural products
industry. Sales growth driven by the
pandemic is expected to continue over
the next three years as new consumers
discover and buy more natural and
organic brands, Ms. Mast said.
" It is these new customers that will
help define our industry's future as well
as the core customers that have always
driven natural and organic, " she said.
Sales of natural and organic foods
" (Plant-based) is still on fire because people are
increasingly understanding, 'it's good for my body, it's
good for the world,' " she said.
Ms. Mast and Ms. Peters, along with Nicolas McCoy,
managing director and co-founder of Whipstitch Capital,
discussed how the industry may harness the momentum
to address social and environmental issues.
Brands may take action to tackle climate change by
partnering more closely with economically vulnerable
farms and supporting conversion to more sustainable
practices, Mr. McCoy said. Localizing production as much
as possible will help reduce logistics costs and reduce
carbon footprint.
Ms. Mast pointed to a lack of diversity in industry
leadership that does not reflect the
Sales of natural
and organic
foods grew three
times faster
than sales of
conventional
foods in 2020.
Source: SPINS
grew three times faster than sales of conventional foods,
said Kathryn Peters, executive vice president of business
development at SPINS, a data technology company.
The pandemic pushed consumers to seek foods with
functional ingredients previously found only in the
supplement aisle, Ms. Peters said, highlighting products
containing apple cider vinegar, elderberry, moringa,
collagen, super mushrooms and ashwagandha.
" It's so exciting to see people realizing that your food
can do more for you than just sustenance and really act
as medicine, " she said.
Plant-based products continue a strong trajectory, with
12.8% growth over the past year while all of food and
beverage grew 4.2%, Ms. Peters said.
10 | Culinology | DECEMBER 2021
general population.
" We don't have much representation
of Black, Indigenous, Latinx and other
people of color on our industry boards
or within our industry leadership circles,
and that's increasingly going to be a
challenge for our industry because how
can we stay relevant to and serve an
increasingly diverse consumer base if
our leadership doesn't reflect the needs
and the behaviors and the desires of
those consumers? " she said. " Our innovation will just not
keep pace if we don't actively work to nurture more diverse
leadership in our industry, if we're not really supporting
those BIPOC-owned and -led brands in our industry. "
Businesses must invest in providing living wages,
education and training and creating an inclusive culture,
and retailers should ensure their aisles reflect all
customers, she said.
" The ethnic and international aisle just doesn't cut it
anymore for where we're heading as a country, " Ms. Mast
said.
Investors should embrace and create space for new
board talent and invest in diverse entrepreneurs, she
added.
Culinology - December 2021

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