Organic Snack Foods Booming

Organic food trend chips out a niche in snack food aisle

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY 6/17/04

Organic food is breaking out of the produce section to a spot few
anticipated: the snack aisle.

Forget stereotypes of pristine strawberries or zucchinis untouched by
preservatives, pesticides, hormones or antibiotics. It's sales of organic
snacks, also produced in accordance with government rules to be labeled
"organic," that are on fire.

Organic snacks are hot

Organic food sales are on a tear. How 2003's five fastest-growing sectors of
organic foods compare in dollar sales with 2002:

Meat, fish, poultry
77.8%

Snacks
29.6%

Sauces, condiments
23.5%

Breads, grains
22.9%

Dairy products

20.3%

Source: Organic Trade Association

Sales of organic chips, nuts, nutrition bars and candy jumped 29.6% last
year. That was outpaced only by organic meats (including poultry and fish),
reports the Organic Trade Association.

All the good things about the $23 billion organic food industry are being
processed by foodmakers at a near-frenetic pace into convenient snack foods.

Organics are Frito-Lay's fastest-growing line. In a year, Frito-Lay has
emerged as the No. 1 seller of organic snacks. It recently introduced
organic Tostitos chips. Now, it's working on an organic Doritos line;
perhaps, someday, potato chips.

"There's a perception that the organic consumer is living in a commune
somewhere," says Stephen Quinn, marketing chief at Frito-Lay. "She's not.
She's my wife."

Adding to the trend: more snacking of all kinds. For many time-pressed,
two-worker families, a stream of snacks has replaced family meal time.

That's one reason a record 120 organic snacks are scheduled to be introduced
this year, up 40% from last year, estimates Lynn Dornblaser, director of
consulting services at Mintel, a research firm.

For some consumers, there's a who'd-a-thunk-it factor to organics' growth in
snacks. "It seems to be a disconnect," says Dornblaser.

Justin Sullivan, Getty Images

More schools, like San Francisco's Mission High, are introducing vending
machines which feature organic foods and snacks.

Nor are nutritionists overjoyed. "These are all dead, processed foods,"
laments Cynthia Lair, author of Feeding the Whole Family. "Organic or not,
they won't make you healthier or give you more vitality. It's better to eat
an apple."

Organic snacks are late to the party, says Peter Meehan, CEO of Newman's Own
Organics. "Things like organic produce and dairy have all grown years ahead
of them."

Perhaps that's why sales of Garden of Eden's organic tortilla chips grew 41%
in the past year. The company's organic snack business has grown more than
20% in the past year, says Ellen Deutsch, chief growth officer at parent
company Hain Celestial Group.

Such numbers have even some organic specialty companies that don't make
processed snacks trying to squeeze into the snacking arena.

Take Earthbound Farm, the biggest producer of organic produce, including
those familiar bags of baby carrots. "My snack as a kid was a Twinkie," says
Larry Hamwey, head of marketing. "But my three kids all know they have to
have healthy snacks."

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