There are many different options available when it comes to buying groceries, such as buying your produce locally or preferring an organic option. More and more customers have been embracing the organic food movement but have not yet convinced the majority. A recent study showed that 52% responded to a survey saying buying produce locally is more important than organic products.
Even though organic products have increased in consumption, the release of organic fruit products and vegetables has declined in popularity. Between the years 2008 and 2011, organic fruit products saw a 52% decline and a 77% decline in vegetable products. Most organic products tend to be more expensive than other kinds of products, but is the price the deciding factor why consumers rather buy local over organic produce?
A recent food study showed that consumers are much more interested in where their food comes from and how fresh the products are, rather than purchasing organic items. So price is not the major reason why consumers choose to buy locally instead of organic products but because the knowledge of knowing exactly where their food comes from is more satisfying than purchasing organic groceries.
While buying produce locally has been trending a lot more these days, sales for organic produce have not seen a significant drop. Matter of fact, organic fruits and vegetables have seen double digits in sales for the year 2011. During that same year, the sales of organic vegetables in dollars rose 11.4% and averaged about $1,344 per store, per week. Not bad at all!
I rather buy my groceries locally and know exactly where it came from and how fresh the product is. Don’t get me wrong, I like buying organic products from time to time but if I had to choose local or organic, I choose locally. How about you, would you rather buy your produce locally or have those organic?
Tell me about your grocery experiences, I would love to hear about them. As always, thank you for reading, and feel free to leave comments!