Organic food sales are setting records as more mainstream Americans fill their shopping carts with everything from eggs to gummy fruit snacks.

Having shed its hippy-dippy image, organic food is among the faster-growing categories in supermarkets even though it adds to food bills and studies vary when it comes to perceived health benefits.

Organic food producers, which now includes giants such as General Mills, are capturing more consumers such as business coach Patty Lennon of Brookfield, Conn.

“It’s produced in a healthier way, without pesticides, without any bad things that contaminate the growth of the food and the growth of my kids,” the 45-year-old mother of two said. “As my kids grow up, I want to know I’ve done everything I could to put the right things in their bodies.”

Sure, organic costs more. Lennon estimates the $450 she spends on groceries weekly would drop to $275 or $300 if she bought the usual non-organic products. “I have the luxury of being able to afford it,” she said.

There are millions of other shoppers like her.

Sales of organic food hit a record $43 billion last year, up 8.4% from the previous year, according to the Organic Trade Association, based in Washington, D.C.. Compare that to the 0.6% growth rate in the overall food category. But they still have a long way to go: Overall, organic food now represents 5.3% of total retail food sales in the U.S.

Interest in organic products is booming not only due to a more conscientious consumer, but also thanks to rising incomes in a strong economy and improved farming practices that make organic yields more robust. The demand for organic extends from supermarket aisles to the multitude of farmers markets that have sprung up.

Organic’s rising importance was underscored by Amazon’s offer last month to buy Whole Foods Market, the upscale grocery chain known for its expansive produce selection, for $13.7 billion.

“There’s an increasing awareness of organic products,” said Rupesh Parikh, investment bank Oppenheimer’s senior analyst for food, grocery and consumer products, who predicts continued double-digit annual growth. “Consumers are really looking more into what they’re eating.”