As consumers increasingly want to know where their food is coming from and what’s being added to it, many are gravitating toward organic products as they seek healthy and clean options in food. And the fresh area of the store is a key destination for organic foods. Whether branded, unbranded or private label, consumers have an abundance of choice when it comes to the selection of in-store organic products.

As fresh items drive total store success, it’s imperative that retailers provide the right mix of conventional and organic products to suit consumer shopping needs. Through 2017, a variety of fresh products (e.g., produce, meat and deli-prepared beverages) landed in the top 10 categories that US consumers purchased in 2017; they’ve also experienced sales gains over their 2016 totals. Packaged salads led the way in 2017, with dollar sales reaching nearly $900 million in the 52 weeks ended Oct. 28, 2017. While the increase was less than 2%, the incremental gain represents more than $16 million in total sales.

For top performing retailers, organic contribution to the total fresh department continues to grow, and remains a key factor that helps top performing retailers continue strong growth as well.

Read more about Nielsen’s Tops of 2017.