Natural, Organic and Regenerative Food and Agriculture Surge in Popularity
This article first appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of GreenMoney Journal
By Steven Hoffman
The market for organic food and agriculture has grown significantly since the National Organic Program was first established in 2001, placing the USDA Certified Organic seal on products that qualify for this distinction. Today, it’s a $70 billion market that’s been growing an average of 8% per year. And while it may be maturing, younger consumers, including new parents and their babies, are eating it up. And now, in the post-pandemic era, investors are once again paying attention to the potential of organic and regenerative products and brands that take into account health and the environment, and how the way we produce our food and consumer products affects climate change.
A survey released in February 2025 by the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the industry’s leading trade group, found that organic’s benefits to personal health and nutrition are resonating deeply with millennials and Gen Zers, making them the most committed organic consumers of any generation. Also, a February 2025 study by the Acosta Group, one of the nation’s top natural and organic products sales firms, reflected that 75% of all shoppers purchased at least one natural or organic product in the six months prior to the survey, with 59% responding that they think it’s important that their groceries and/or household products are natural and organic because they “are better for them” and “they tend to have fewer synthetic chemicals and additives.”
Natural and Organic Industry Is a Force
Overall, the natural and organic products industry combined has more than tripled in size since 2007, growing from $97 billion in sales in 2007 to over $325 billion in 2024, according to data compiled by New Hope Network, SPINS (a division of Nielsen), Whipstitch Capital and others, and presented at this year’s State of Natural & Organic keynote presentation at Natural Products Expo West, the world’s largest trade exhibition for the natural, organic, regenerative, nutritional and eco-friendly consumer products industry, held in March 2025.
“Wow, this industry is a force,” said Jessica Rubino, VP of Content & Summits for New Hope Network, at the keynote presentation. “That is a tremendous amount of growth. Today, we’re defining the industry as the natural, organic and functional food and beverage space, dietary supplements and personal care.” According to Rubino, the industry grew 5.7% in 2024, exceeding expectations. “The biggest piece of the pie is food and beverage, followed by dietary supplements and then personal care.” Rubino also said that while personal care is the smallest segment, it is the fastest growing and a category to watch.
“Natural products are absolutely continuing to accelerate again. Of course, they’re all outpacing non-natural products, and that’s even with not a whole lot of new items coming through,” said Kathryn Peters, Head of Industry Relations for SPINS and one of this year’s keynote presenters. “We’re also seeing more buyers coming in. This is being driven across many areas of the store, whether it’s refrigerated, grocery or vitamins and supplements. So, it’s just a resilient, wonderful story of growth we see in the industry. And really importantly, the game is continuing to be all about smart, profitable growth.”
In addition, “Organic is still very solid and strong, moving about the same pace as natural,” Peters said. “Consumers obviously have a strong awareness more than a lot of other certifications and a confidence in organic.” Certified regenerative products, too, showed significant growth of 20% in 2024, the panel noted.
“In just a little over two decades, the USDA Organic label has earned deep trust among consumers and has become one of the most identifiable food labels in our grocery stores,” said Matthew Dillon, Co-CEO of the OTA. According to OTA’s survey, more than half of U.S. consumers bought an organic fruit or vegetable in the last year. Consumers surveyed bought more bread in the last six months than any other food item, and 27% said they chose organic bread. For those surveyed consumers buying baby food, a whopping 93% chose organic. The USDA Organic label is particularly important for younger consumers, with over two-thirds seeking out the organic label in almost every food purchase. The Organic label was most valued in fresh food categories including fruits, vegetables, meat/poultry, baby food, eggs and dairy, and these items were the most likely products to be purchased as organic over the last 12 months.
Regenerative Agriculture Draws Investor Interest
In addition, regenerative agriculture — a system of farming that seeks to sequester carbon by rebuilding healthy soil — is among the sectors attracting more interest from impact investors, despite being an underfunded sector. However, there is growing consensus that the increasing threat to biodiversity is unsustainable and regenerative agriculture urgently needs to scale up. Now, groups such as Regenerative Food Systems Investors Forum and Impact Investor are drawing investor’s interest to the space.
One of the primary challenges to investing in regenerative food and farming is due to the fact that it requires significant upfront investment to transition from conventional farming. As such, many institutional investors remain hesitant due to uncertain returns and long payback periods. “This transition to regenerative farming is a long term one. That’s why intensive agriculture is so widespread, because it’s a very quick win. This is why you need investors to be patient and be willing to take some of the first loss and risk. This then accelerates the amount of private capital that will come in, because risk is protected,” said Harriet Jackson of responsAbility, a Swiss impact investing firm, speaking at Impact Investor’s 2024 conference in The Hague.
“Today…we are at what appears to be a crucial point in the transformation of agriculture and food systems. The momentum for regeneration is distinct,” said Sarah Day Levesque, Managing Director of Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum, an investor’s organization seeking to build a more resilient food system. “There’s an increasing number of farmers pioneering the transition on the farm and increasing acreage. We can also see it in the incredible growth of organizations like EARA — the European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture – designed to give rise to the voices of farmers in transition. Governments and public policy makers are acknowledging the very real risk presented by climate change and degradation of nature, including that caused by extractive agricultural practices. We are increasingly seeing policies and public sector investment that seeks to address these risks and support transition. Businesses and asset owners are starting to see and feel the importance of investing in nature and climate positive land use – seeing how critical investments in natural capital will de-risk production and create resilience in business models and investment outcomes.”
One organization seeking to foster investment in regenerative agriculture is the Boulder, CO-based Mad Agriculture, which in March 2024 launched Mad Capital, a $50 million investment fund aiming to de-risk regenerative and organic farming. With commitments from The Rockefeller Foundation, Schmidt Family Foundation and more, Mad Capital established its Perennial Fund II to provide loans to U.S. farmers to help them transition to regenerative and/or organic agriculture. The fund has made two closes and is “actively deploying capital to farmers,” said Mad Capital Co-founder and CEO Brandon Welch.
Natural and Organic Brands Are Outperforming
From an investor’s perspective, the overall natural, organic and regenerative products industry is looking better than it has in some time, asserted Nick McCoy, Managing Director and Cofounder of Whipstitch Capital, at the State of Natural & Organic keynote at Natural Products Expo West. “Over the last couple of years there’s been a lot of talk and a lot of pain for the lack of liquidity in this industry. It’s been very difficult for founders to find money compared to pre-Covid. Right now, we’re sitting in a very similar point as we were in 2010 or 2011 facing the millennial launch and emerging from the great recession…when it was very difficult to raise small checks. So, what's the hand of cards that we're playing in this industry now? Well, we have natural products that are very attractive. They're outperforming…consumers are running to them. We have positive ROI in cash invested. Cash invested is resulting in big revenue gains right now, and ultimately dollars chase dollars,” McCoy said.
“We may not have had as much M&A or fundings over the last two years, but…we've built a tremendous amount of value in this industry. And when you see more consumers spending more money in wellness, investment in M&A and other dollars eventually catch up and that's what's going to happen. CPG investors right now are sitting on a very large pool of illiquid but very attractive assets. There's a lot of viable brands that are growing faster than basically the broader market... Interest rates are starting to stabilize. We're seeing more fund closings and more investors getting more liquid money and the amount of illiquid value locked up is going up.”
According to McCoy, it’s not just the “big strategics" buying natural food brands. The natural products industry itself is seeing companies growing large enough to potentially become buyers themselves. “We’re seeing lots of talk about the IPO market starting again. Before 2021, I could probably count on one hand the number of brands that IPO’d in this industry. Now it sounds like it’s going to come back,” McCoy shared.
“There’re a lot of different ways that people get to liquidity,” McCoy added. “And once it does get liquid, then basically the money will flow from the bigger funds to the smaller funds, and the longer it takes, the more money these individual investors are going to get — surprising amounts. They thought they were going to get five times their money or 10 times their money investing in the company in 2015, and now it's grown so large they get 50X when it sells. And that's a true case of some that recently sold.”
According to McCoy, the $100-$300 million in revenue independent natural CPG brands — a group showing “tremendous growth” — represent major M&A and consolidation opportunity. “If we look at some of these recent high-profile deals, two, two and a half, three times revenue are where some of these things are trading. So, if we apply a two and a half times revenue multiple using SPINS sell-through data, you can see that this kind of locked up illiquid value that was $13 billion two years ago is up to $19 billion now. And when you think about a number like that, when that money starts to go back to investors, if you're an investor and you put $25,000 into a company expecting to get $250,000 and suddenly you get $1.5 million, you're going to be investing a lot more than $25,000 into other companies and that's going to bring the liquidity back over these next few years. It's really exciting to me.”
Resources
● The State of Natural & Organic — Keynote Presentation recorded at Natural Products Expo West 2025; watch here.
● Nutrition Capital Network — With news, resources, and events, NCN brings together active investors and innovative companies in health, nutrition and wellness,, www.nutritioncapital.com
● Whipstitch Capital — A leading investment bank tracking the food & beverage and health & wellness space, www.whipstitchcapital.com
● Big Path Capital — A leading investment bank and annual conference for impact investing and “Impact CEOs,” www.bigpathcapital.com
● MAD Capital — An investment fund for regenerative and organic ranchers and farmers, www.madcapital.com
● Regenerative Food Systems Investment Forum — An investor’s organization seeking to build a more resilient food system, www.rfsi-forum.com
Steven Hoffman is Managing Director of Compass Natural, providing public relations, brand marketing, social media and strategic business development services to natural, organic, regenerative and sustainable products businesses. Contact steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com.
U.S. Organic Product Sales Near $70B; All-Organic Trade Show Set for 2025
By Steven Hoffman
Is it true that the growth rate in sales of certified organic bananas is now outpacing that of conventional bananas? According to the Organic Trade Association (OTA), the answer is yes.
In fact, among an ever-expanding sea of certification seals in the retail sector, and despite inflation, the “Certified Organic” label continues to stand out for consumers who prioritize health, sustainability and clean-label products. So much so that U.S. sales of certified organic products grew 3.4% in 2023 to $69.7 billion, marking a new record for sales in the organic products industry.
According to the OTA, which conducted the 2024 Organic Industry Survey in collaboration with Nutrition Business Journal, organic food sales in 2023 totaled $63.8 billion, and sales of organic non-food products reached $5.9 billion, with organic personal care products reporting the strongest increase in that category, with growth of 7% in 2023.
On the food side, fresh organic produce continues to dominate as the primary entry point for consumers, who are increasingly knowledgeable about the “Dirty Dozen” — those fruits and vegetables the Environmental Working Group has determined to contain the most synthetic pesticide residues. In 2023, sales of organic produce grew 2.6% to $20.5 billion. Top sellers included avocados, berries, apples, carrots and packaged salads. OTA also noted that, indeed, in 2023, organic bananas recorded greater sales growth than non-organic bananas.
Organic Baby Food Drives Growth in Grocery
The second biggest selling category in the organic sector in 2023 was grocery, comprising breads and grains, condiments, and packaged and prepared foods. Among a diverse group of sub-categories in grocery, three stood out as top performers: in-store bakery and fresh breads, with sales of $3.1 billion and growth of 3%; dry breakfast products, which were up 8% to $1.8 billion in sales; and organic baby food and formula, up an impressive 11% to record $1.5 billion in sales in 2023.
According to the OTA survey, 2023 also saw a surge in functional and non-alcoholic beverages, which helped drive beverages as the third largest category in organics, posting growth of 3.9% and sales of $9.4 billion. In addition to the emergence of organic “mocktails,” organic wine sales were up 2.5% to $377 million, and organic liquor and cocktails showed strength as an emerging category with growth of 13% and sales of $59 million in 2023.
Organic dairy and eggs, the fourth-largest category in the organic food market, based on OTA’s survey, is another entry point for consumers who want clean, ethical sources of protein with lower environmental impacts. In 2023, organic dairy and egg sales were up 5.5%, totaling $8.2 billion. According to OTA, organic dairy and eggs now account for more than 8% of all dairy and egg sales. Milk and cream sales were up nearly 5% to $4.2 billion. Also, the organic dairy alternative category grew almost 14% in 2023 to approximately $700 million.
Leading among organic non-food items were organic supplements, tracking 4% growth and sales of $2.1 billion in 2023. Organic fiber remains the largest segment of U.S. organic non-food product sales, representing 40%, or $2.4 billion, of non-food category sales. According to OTA, growth in organic fiber sales was essentially flat year over year, due to restricted supply chain issues more than lack of buyer interest.
Price Gap Is Narrowing Between Conventional and Organic
According to OTA Co-CEOs Matthew Dillon and Tom Chapman, the increase in overall dollar sales in the organic market in 2023 was driven more by price increases than unit sales as the organic industry recalibrated its supply chain and dealt with retail price increases as necessary. However, they pointed out, consumers increased their purchases of many organic products, and unit sales were up for nearly 40% of the products tracked in this year’s survey.
In addition, the survey indicated that prices for many non-organic products climbed at a faster rate than organic products, meaning that the price gap is narrowing between conventional and organic, which, says OTA, should fuel growth for organic products in the coming year.
“It is encouraging to see that organic is growing at basically the same rate as the total market. In the face of inflation and considering organic is already seen as a premium category, the current growth shows that consumers continue to choose organic amidst economic challenges and price increases. Although organic is now a maturing sector in the marketplace, we still have plenty of room to grow,” said Tom Chapman.
Matthew Dillon added that to achieve this growth, “It is essential to educate consumers that choosing organic is a straightforward way to tackle some of the greatest challenges we face. Whether it's accessing healthy foods, improving transparency in supply chains, mitigating climate change, supporting rural economic resilience, protecting natural resources, or realizing the multitude of other benefits, effectively communicating and delivering on these promises is the key to expanding organic’s share of our dinner plate.”
The future for organic is not without its challenges. However, Chapman and Dillon assert that more consumers are aware of the potential health benefits associated with organic foods. Many consumers, too, especially the Millennial and Gen Z generations, they point out, are increasingly conscious of the ethical implications of their food choices. They are looking for products that align with their values, such as animal welfare, fair trade, and support for organic farmers. That means seeking out products with the USDA certified organic seal on the label.
OTA Members can download the full report here. A summary is available here.
Dedicated All-Organic U.S. Trade Show Announced
Since 1991, people from all over the world have attended, BioFach, the world’s only dedicated, all-organic trade show, held each year in Nuremberg, Germany. Now, targeting the world’s largest market for organic products, the producer of BioFach has announced it will host its first standalone, all-organic trade show in the U.S.
Dubbed BioFach America, the event will take place on June 2-4, 2025, in Atlanta.
“With BioFach America, we will host a purely organic trade show in the US. The whole organic value chain will be covered: from organic farming to retail,” said NürnbergMesse, producer of the event. According to the producer, every product presented at BioFach America must be USDA certified organic or carry an organic certification from an IFOAM Organics International accredited organization. For cosmetics, certifications such as COSMOS or Ecocert, are accepted.
In an interview with Organic Insider, Bill Ingwersen, CEO of NürnbergMesse North America, said, “BioFach America always had a presence, or section, at Natural Products Expo East, and last year in Philadelphia, we brought in 47 companies from around the world. With that show being canceled, it forced us to really ask the question: are people getting what they need at other shows or is there a true need for an organic one? We concluded that there was, in fact, a real need for a dedicated, all-organic platform in the U.S.”
When asked why Atlanta was chosen as the location for the inaugural event, Ingwersen told Organic Insider, “Since this is a U.S. show and not a regional one, people will have to travel, regardless of which city we chose. After many conversations with industry executives, it became clear that we had to make it an affordable show for everyone, including farmers. Atlanta has the world’s largest airport, has an ample supply of low-cost hotel rooms and is a very energetic, accessible city that has great infrastructure. In addition, it can support our growth as we move forward. Also, being able to serve an organic lunch to our attendees was a real hot button topic. All the catering coming out of the Atlanta Convention Center will be organic for the show, and if a city could not guarantee this, that was an immediate disqualification.”
Learn more about BioFach America here.
Cracking Down on Fraud: USDA Organic Enforcement Rules Take Full Effect in March 2024
This article first appeared in Presence Marketing’s September 2023 newsletter.
By Steven Hoffman
Organic food is big business in the U.S. – sales of organic products topped $61 billion in 2022 – and the certified organic label fetches a premium price for producers. So much so that fraud from both domestic and imported sources had become a major concern among organic industry business owners, investors and advocates.
That’s why such leading organizations as the Organic Trade Association (OTA) and others applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) when, earlier this year, the agency announced the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule, which is set to be fully implemented and enforced in March 2024.
Representing the biggest change to organic regulations since the passage of the Organic Food Production Act in 1990, the SOE Rule was created to crack down on organic fraud. The new rule provides “a significant increase in oversight and enforcement authority to reinforce the trust of consumers, farmers, and those transitioning to organic production. This success is another demonstration that USDA fully stands behind the organic brand,” Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, said in a statement.
“The rule closes gaps in current organic regulations and builds consistent certification practices to prevent fraud and improve the transparency and traceability of organic products. Fraud in the organic system – wherever it occurs – harms the entire organic sector and shakes the trust of consumers in organic. This regulation will have significant and far-reaching impacts on the organic sector and will do much to deter and detect organic fraud and protect organic integrity throughout the supply chain,” OTA said in support of the new rule.
Liz Figueredo, quality and regulatory director at organic certifier Quality Assurance International (QAI), based in San Diego, California, told Nutritional Outlook in July 2023 that the new SOE Rule closes supply chain loopholes that existed in previous regulations. The new rule requires organic certification for all parts of the supply chain, including handlers and suppliers who were previously exempt, she said.
“This means that certifiers can no longer depend on documentation from uncertified handlers, which was often lacking, to verify the organic status of products. The rule also includes fraud-reduction techniques, such as requiring an Import Certificate for any organic ingredients or products imported into the U.S., which provides the total volume or weight of the imported products,” Figueredo said.
Who Is Affected by the New SOE Rule?
According to USDA, the SOE Rule may affect USDA-accredited certifying agencies; organic inspectors; certified organic operations; handlers of organic products; operations considering organic certification; businesses that import or trade organic products; retailers that sell organic products; and organic supply chain participants who are not currently certified organic.
Exemptions are limited to a few low-risk activities such as very small operations; certain retail establishments that do not process; storage and warehouse facilities that only handle products in sealed, tamper-proof containers or packages; distributors that only handle final retail-packaged products; and customs and logistics brokers that do not take ownership or physical possession of organic products.
However, exempt operations must still follow all other applicable portions of organic regulations, including co-mingling and contamination prevention, labeling requirements and record keeping. Transporters that only move organic products between certified operations, or transload between modes of transportation, do not need to be individually certified, but are the responsibility of the certified operation that loads or receives the product.
To see if your business is affected and for more information, visit the full text of USDA’s SOE Rule in the Federal Register. OTA, too, has a resource page with extensive information regarding preparing for full compliance with the SOE Rule, along with exclusive training materials for association members. OTA also offers a questionnaire for businesses that may not be sure if they need certification.
What Does the SOE Rule Do?
According to USDA, “SOE protects organic integrity and bolsters farmer and consumer confidence in the USDA organic seal by supporting strong organic control systems, improving farm to market traceability, increasing import oversight authority, and providing robust enforcement of the organic regulations.”
Key updates include:
Requiring certification of more of the businesses, like brokers and traders, at critical links in organic supply chains.
Requiring NOP Import Certificates for all organic imports.
Requiring organic identification on non-retail containers.
Increasing authority for more rigorous on-site inspections of certified operations.
Requiring uniform qualification and training standards for organic inspectors and certifying agent personnel.
Requires standardized certificates of organic operation.
Requires additional and more frequent reporting of data on certified operations.
Creates authority for more robust recordkeeping, traceability practices, and fraud prevention procedures.
Specify certification requirements for producer groups.
“SOE complements and supports the many actions that USDA takes to protect the organic label, including the registration of the USDA organic seal trademark with the USPTO. The registered trademark provides authority to deter uncertified entities from falsely using the seal, which together with this new rule provides additional layers of protection to the USDA organic seal,” USDA said.
For producers wanting to learn more about navigating and adhering to these new requirements, the Western Growers Association in partnership with the Organic Produce Network will host a session at its upcoming Organic Grower Summit, Nov. 29-30, 2023, in Monterey, California, entitled “The SOE Deadline Looms–Are You Ready?” The seminar is designed to help growers better understand the upcoming rule changes, which will affect producers, distributors, handlers and importers.
In addition, organic industry and policy veterans Gwendolyn Wyard and Kim Dietz recently founded Strengthening Organic Systems, an advisory firm focused on helping businesses with organic fraud prevention, supply chain investigations and compliance with USDA’s organic anti-fraud regulations.
Read More
How Will USDA’s Organic Regulation Changes Affect the Food and Nutraceutical Industries? – Nutritional Outlook
USDA Launches Organic Integrity Database Module – Organic Insider
Tighter Rules Now in Effect for USDA Organic Seal of Approval – Cosmetics and Toiletries News
Strengthening Organic Enforcement USDA Rule – California Certified Organic Farmers
USDA Bolsters Consumer Confidence in Certified Organic Products with New Enforcement Rule – New Hope Network
Steven Hoffman is Managing Director of Compass Natural, providing public relations, brand marketing, social media, and strategic business development services to natural, organic, sustainable and hemp/CBD products businesses. Compass Natural serves in PR and programming for NoCo Hemp Expo and Southern Hemp Expo, and Hoffman serves as Editor of the weekly Let’s Talk Hemp Newsletter, published by We are for Better Alternatives. Contact steve@compassnaturalmarketing.com.
Organic Trade Association to Host Webinar Series on Key Issues in Organic
Photo: Pexels
Originally Appeared in Presence Marketing News, September 2019
By Steven Hoffman
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) will host a series offered free to OTA members and for a registration fee of $149 each for non-members. The webinars, scheduled between now and the end of the year, will focus on a number of issues impacting the organic products market, including: Retail Intel: Best Labeling Practices for Organic Non-food Products; Organic Fraud Prevention Solutions; NOSB Meeting Wrap-up; and Legislative Watch: A Recap of 2019 Achievements. In addition, The Organic Center will host a webinar on September 25 that is open to all with no fee. The Organic Center webinar will focus on The Biodiversity Calculator: A Simple Tool for Tracking and Managing Biodiversity for NOP Compliance. For more information visit https://ota.com/programs-events/upcoming-webinars.