CHICAGO, Ill. – Organic coffee is a hot commodity.
Sales of the specialty java increased 54 percent in the United States in 2005 compared to an 8.5 percent increase in regular coffee purchases, according to data collected by ACNielsen.
For the 52 weeks ended Sept. 10, 2005, sales of organic coffee totalled $34.4 million in
U.S. food, drug and mass merchandising stores excluding Wal-Mart.
“Somebody is losing market share and it is not us,” said Rodney North, senior worker of Equal Exchange, one of the leading brands of certified organic coffee in the U.S.
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According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, 56 percent of all U.S. specialty coffee firms sell certified organic coffee, which fetches a 30 percent premium over its specialty counterparts.
Garth Smith, owner of Organic Products Trading Co., another leading brand in the U.S., said his company imported and sold 2.25 million kilograms of organic coffee in 2005, up from 790,000 kg in 2002.
In a move that parallels what is happening in the broader organic sector, the big players in the coffee business are developing an interest in
organics.
Folgers and Nestle Canada are experimenting with several organic brands and Starbucks has introduced a line of organic coffees that it is selling through its 11,377 stores.
Smith said Starbucks purchased 450,000 kg of organic coffee in 2005. Unlike some people in the industry, he welcomes the addition of the multinational corporation.
“Starbucks is taking a lot of good aggressive steps in organic and fair trade coffees. I really believe they are,” he said.
