The Boulder-based Only Natural Pet store reported a 132 percent increase in sales in the first six months of 2006 over the same period last year.
According to Petfood Industry magazine, sales of organic pet foods grew from $20.8 million in 1999 to $29.4 million in 2001.
For more, read the story in the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The British organic food market is expected to become a 2.7 billion pound ($5.1 billion in USD) market by 2010, up 69 percent from 2005.
Datamonitor reported that the increase will be powered by food safety concerns and the perceived better taste of organic food.
Datamonitor quoted a study that showed American and European consumers rated eating fresh food as the most important route to healthy living.
Read more at Reuters.
Rotterdam, NY based Price Chopper has struck a deal with Wild Oats, the Colorado-based natural and organic product supermarket, to stock Wild Oats-branded products on its shelves.
The products will start showing up on shelves early next year.
Read more about the deal in the Albany Times-Union.
A study by the British markting reseach firm Mintel shows that the amount of money that British consumers spend on organic, free-range, Fair Trade and locally grown food has increased 62 percent over the last four years.
Mintel believes that a generally more affluent society has allowed people to shop by ethics rather than price.
For more, read the story in the Guardian.
The Organic Farming Research Foundation found in a 2004 survey that 79 percent of farmers were selling their produce within 100 miles of their farms. People in the “fields” also say that not only are locals getting more picky about choosing organics, they are also getting more sophisticated in the questions they ask farmers about how the food was grown.
For more, read the story in the Houston Chronicle.
A new poll commissioned by a Welsh organics Web site found that 95 percent of women respondents said they would buy organic if they were available online
According to the poll:
The majority (65%) of women who responded were in the 41 to 55-years-old age group, 93% were married and 71% were mothers. The average spend on organic goods was £50 a week.
Around 70% said they always buy organic meat and vegetables, 62% organic tea and coffee, 54% dairy, 51% eggs and 49% cereals and bread.
Read more about the poll here.
Former Illinois Sen. Carol Mosely Braun has launched Ambassador Organics. The one-time presidential candidate and former ambassador to New Zealand said she is continuing a family tradition of farming that goes back to the mid-1800s.
Read more at the Evansville Courier Press.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is creating its own brand of organic foods, which will be sold under the name Archer Farms.
The company will feature certified organic products such as whole-grain pizzas, pastas, complete dinners and fruit strips. The items will be availeble in SuperTarget stores and other select Target locations.
Read more at the company’s Web site.
The British island of Arran is trying to be the first such island to serve organic food in all its schools.
The island’s seven primary and one secondary school are working to provide 30 percent organic and 50 percent locally produced food.
For more, read the story at the Evening Times.
Some residents of Brunswick County, South Carolina are hoping to get a new organic food co-op running by next year.
The co-op will initially be housed in a small space such as a garage, until its founder can find a market-sized space.
The co-op will try to forge deals with local farmers.
For more information, read the story at the Star News Online.