"State of Natural and Organic" keynote session, L-R: Carlotta Mast, New Hope Network; Summer Auerbach, Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Markets; Heather K. Terry, GoodSam; Le'Spencer Walker, Target; and Neda Daneshzadeh, Prelude Growth Partners
The word on the lips of many participants in sessions held during Natural Products Expo East, which took place in Philadelphia Sept. 29-Oct. 1, was “resiliency,” closely followed by an emphasis on natural/organic shareholders collaborating to further the industry and its sustainability goals.
The tone was set at the keynote “State of Natural and Organic” session on Oct. 29, where Carlotta Mast, SVP of New Hope Network, identified resiliency as being key to industry success and called on all natural/organic suppliers and purveyors to “make health, joy and justice a reality for all people.”
What contributes to that resiliency? The answer, according to the panel assembled for the session, is partnerships, with Le’Spencer Walker, director, merchandising vendor development at Target, stressing that diversity, with its multiplicity of views and life experiences, gives the industry more ways to deal with challenges, as well as greater access to innovative and unique products.
As for how retailers are tapping into resiliency, Summer Auerbach, second-generation owner of Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Markets, in Louisville, Ky., which was roiled by social unrest in the wake of the killing of Breonna Taylor, spoke about how her independent five-store operation is dealing with the aftermath of that event, as well as the labor crisis. The grocer’s strategic theme for 2022, “We’re Glad You’re Here,” aims to place staff appreciation and customer service front and center, cementing the stores’ connection to the communities they serves.
The discussion led Mast to assert that “partnerships will be the fuel” to propel the industry forward, as long as shareholders were “leading with love.”
According to statistics presented by Nick McCoy, of Whipstitch Capital, and Kathryn Peters, of SPINS, during the session, the U.S. natural and organic products industry is poised to hit $300 billion in sales by 2023, with COVID-influenced growth expected to continue, given the lasting ways that the pandemic changed customer behaviors, and the new customers who started buying natural and organic products. In fact, across all brick-and-mortar retail channels, natural products are driving growth.
The session also pointed out the importance of an omnichannel strategy to grow business as online sales growth returns to pre-COVID levels, especially since natural products shoppers buy online at nearly twice the rate of all shoppers.
Amid an economic downturn and high inflation, the presenters urged retailers to strategically benchmark one to three key competitors and offer easy solutions to keep consumers coming in often, understand their shoppers’ most frequent needs and preferences, and clarify their goals by category: which are margin and which maximize share.
An emerging trend noted by Mast, McCoy and Peters was that in addition to physical wellness, consumers were growing more interested in products addressing mental well-being, especially with regard to alleviating stress and anxiety/depression. This they attributed to economic forces and a shift toward greater self-awareness.