U.S. Consumers Among Least Likely to Buy Organics Regularly

Price is Main Deterrent to Buying Organics; Lack of Confidence in Health Benefits, Poor Taste Main Deterrents to Buying Functional Foods

5 December 2005
New York, NY
  
U.S. consumers are among the least likely shoppers from around the world to regularly purchase organic food and beverage products, according to a new online global survey from ACNielsen, the world’s leading provider of consumer and marketplace information. Asked about their purchasing of organic alternatives from 11 food and beverage categories, just 6 to 15 percent of U.S. consumers said they purchase such products regularly – well short of the average among consumers from all 38 markets included in the study.

Regularly Buy Organic Alternative

Across all regions, the main reason for purchasing organic food and beverages is that consumers believe such products are healthier for them. The secondary reason cited by consumers in all regions except Europe is the perceived health benefits for the shoppers’ children. In Europe, more people cited benefits for the environment as their secondary reason to purchase organics.

Top Reasons for Buying Organic Products

For those who never buy organic food or beverage products, which includes 40 to 72 percent of U.S. consumers, depending on the category, the main deterrent is price.

Top Reasons for Not Buying Organic Products

“How mainstream organic products become, to a significant degree, depends on what happens with their prices,” according to Tom Markert, ACNielsen Chief Marketing Officer. “But I’m not expecting large price cuts. Even as production increases and the number of categories that include organic offerings expands, marketers may very well opt to maintain organics’ upscale positioning.”

The survey also asked respondents about their purchasing of so-called “Functional Foods” – products fortified with added vitamins or supplements and promoting specific health benefits. Unlike organic products, U.S. consumers are much more closely aligned with the global averages for functional foods purchasing. In fact, in 5 of the 10 categories included in the survey, a greater percentage of U.S. consumers said they regularly purchase such products than the global averages.  

Regularly Buy Functional Foods

Among U.S. consumers who do not buy functional foods, the most frequently cited reasons were doubts about the products’ health claims and taste considerations.

Top Reasons Why U.S. Consumers Do Not Buy Functional Foods

According to Tom Markert, “The functional foods distinction is beginning to blur, as manufacturers enhance more and more products with additional health benefits. As that trend continues, an increasing number of consumers are likely to become functional foods buyers without even realizing it.”

  
The twice-yearly global ACNielsen Online Consumer Opinion Survey, the largest of its kind, polled over 21,100 respondents – regular Internet users – in 38 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and in South Africa in May 2005 (See Table 1 for market breakdown).

Download the complete text (pdf format) of the Functional Food & Organics Report (PDF, 380k).  For more details on the ACNielsen Global Online Opinion Survey, visit the Data Center.

Table 1: The 38 Markets covered in the 2005 Global Consumer Opinion Survey

About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world's leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen's market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.