Prepared Foods talks natural and organic product trends with Scott Dicker, market insights director at SPINS LLC in Chicago. Last year, New Hope Media and SPINS representatives estimated packaged natural and organic product sales in 2022 hit $111.5 billion in sales, a 7.2% year-over-year increase according to SPINS data. Meanwhile, total related sales—including supplements and functional foods and beverages—were projected to surpass more than $300 billion in 2023.

In this podcast, Dicker notes that specialty and wellness products—particularly at-home meals, products with global flavors—are particularly popular among natural and organic offerings. Overall, these categories are still performing well—thanks to those consumers willing to invest in their “health-span” and who value clean label and ethical product attributes. Dicker likewise notes many natural and organic products are gaining appeal for related sustainability benefits. In particular, consumers are drawn to those products touting ingredients that have been either upcycled or sourced via regenerative agriculture practices.

SPINS also just released its top trends for the health and wellness categories. They include women’s health, sustainability, allergy polarization (introducing allergens to toddlers while eliminating allergens in more consumer products), global flavors 2.0 and a shift in consumer thinking from lifespan to “health span.” Dicker said SPINS also continues to watch the maturing plant-based products category (still growing but emphasizing cleaner label, veggie-forward formulations), the shift to more relaxation and mood beverages, as well as those functional ingredients poised to shift from supplements over to functional beverages and snacks. He noted that SPINS also is closelymonitoring how food and beverage sales might be impacted—either positively or negatively—by consumer interest in diabetes and weight-loss drugs (such as Ozempic®).