Bluegrass Ingredients is at the forefront of the organic industry, manufacturing organic cheese and dairy powders; citrus fruit powders; concentrates; shortening powders and other organic seasonings.
Our organic powders and concentrates deliver clean-label flavor and texture while minimizing shipping and storage costs for manufacturers.
Minimizing costs is essential in today’s organic food industry, as rising food costs have impacted consumer shopping habits throughout the United States. Organic food products cost more than conventional products, which is difficult for some consumers to digest even during booming economic times. Amid inflationary pressures and skyrocketing food costs in the United States, it’s no surprise that the category has seen a slowing in its growth trajectory.
However, the organic category is still growing, as evidenced in 2022 sales numbers provided by the Organic Trade Association:
Even more impressive, growth is not just coming from increased availability of stalwart organic categories such as fruits, vegetables, dairy and eggs. Growth is happening in packaged foods as well, where consumers are opting for organic options of packaged meals, frozen entrees, snack foods, beverages and more.
We’ve seen a significant increase in our organic product line as packaged organic foods, such as boxed macaroni and cheese, soups and snack foods, become mainstream items for consumers expanding into the organic category.
Our Agile Kitchen™ team has been busy working with food and beverage manufacturers on new organic product launches, and we compiled this quick list of everything a food and beverage manufacturer needs to know about developing, manufacturing and marketing organic foods.
At the onset of the National Organic Program, fresh produce, milk and eggs dominated sales. That has slowly changed as organic ingredients became more readily available in more convenient formats, such as cheese and fruit powders.
Today, organic innovation is most prevalent in center-of-store categories that are luring mainstream consumers who want to add more organic foods to their diets. Here’s a list of categories that food and beverage manufacturers should keep their eye on:
Now that you know what’s trending, let’s talk about the specifics of what it means to produce an organic product. In 2000, the National Organic Program established a specific set of rules and guidelines for all products labeled organic. General guidelines include:
Interested in manufacturing organic products? First, you’ll need to develop an Organic Systems Plan, which provides details on all aspects of sourcing, handling and processing. Essentially, the plan must provide traceability of every ingredient used from the farm to the manufacturing and packaging of the product.
Food and beverage manufacturers also will have to develop a manufacturing protocol, especially if a manufacturer is not using a dedicated organic production facility. These protocols must include cleaning machinery, storing organic ingredients and detailed records to ensure consumers can trust the use of the Organic seal.
There are four designations for labeling organic foods in the United States.
The continued growth of the organic category even as most Americans are significantly impacted by rising food costs, has answered many questions on the long-term viability and success of the category. If you’re not producing organic foods yet, we hope you enjoyed this blog and encourage you to contact us to brainstorm ideas for your first product.
If you do produce organic products, we invite you to our Agile Kitchen™, where our team of trend experts and culinary specialists will demonstrate a variety of organic new product ideas for your company.
