SPINS State Of The Industry Points To More Growth For Wellness Industry – The Health Space Is Healthy – To Be Displayed This Week At Natural Foods Expo East In Baltimore

by: Grovara
BeveragesConsumersCultureDemandDistributionFoodGroceryHealthManufacturersNA (North America)NaturalNutritionOrganicPlant-basedProductsSalesSustainabilityWellness

With the constant rollout of new trends, products and terminology in the rapidly developing wellness industry, it can sometimes be hard to get an accurate picture of what’s really moving the needle.

Fortunately, Grovara partner SPINS, the leading wellness-focused data technology company and a passionate advocate for natural brands, has created a common language and barometers for brands, retailers and their partners to use in getting better-for-you products into consumers’ hands.

The overriding theme from this year’s SPINS State of the Natural Industry report, released late last month, is more growth across channels and product categories, and that dynamic spirit will be on display this week in Baltimore for the Natural Foods Expo East trade show. Nearly 30,000 industry members, 500 members of the press, and the country’s top buyers and wellness distributors — including Grovara — will converge on the Baltimore Convention Center for some 1,500 exhibits today through Saturday.

At $47.2 billion, natural food and beverage products only represent about 10% of all food and beverage products made in the U.S., but natural food and beverage products are growing at nearly three times the rate of all food and beverages. Much of the growth is coming from conventional retail, which is growing twice as much as natural and specialty gourmet retailers.

Natural performance beverages are one of the biggest drivers of that growth, increasing a whopping 92.3% to $218.4 million in 2018. 

Refrigerated plant-based milk (99.7%), frozen (97.8%) and refrigerated plant-based meat alternatives (96.9%) are the top categories, respectively, for natural products market share. Shelf-stable wellness bars and gels are close behind (65.5%).

In 2018 core-natural shoppers — or those most committed to buying natural and organic products — spent 12.2% more on natural products than in the previous year, and 7.6% more on organics. Pet foods and products were a big driver of this growth, up 21.8% over the previous year and outpacing previous growth by nearly four times.

Plant-based food and beverage products (specifically those labeled vegan) are growing across all channels at 10.1%.

In conventional retail, paleo and grain-free trends are driving the most growth. Paleo-positioned products new 48.8% to $293.8 million and grain-free labeled products grew 81.5% to $139.5 million.

Grovara will have updates from Expo East, so make sure you’re following us on LinkedIn and Instagram.