What are organic foods? Most people wouldn’t perhaps be able to provide a clear-cut definition, even though they may intuitively know how to differentiate organic food from the rest.

TechSci Research report “Global Organic Food Market, 2021” provides a clear and concise definition of organic foods: food products that are produced using environment friendly production methods and without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge and GMOs.

Modern day consumer differs from the consumer of yesteryears in two critical ways. Firstly, today’s consumer consumes a lot more of ‘unhealthy’ food or food laden with pesticides, preservatives, flavour enhancers like MSG (monosodium glutamate) etc. Secondly the modern-day consumer is aware of exactly how bad some of the things consumed by him or her are. Nutrition has evolved into a genuine science from the bona fide one that it was not 2 decades back and along with it the average consumer’s awareness levels have also grown exponentially. Iincreasing incidence of lifestyle diseases such as heart problems, diabetes, etc. find their root in sedentary lifestyles and poor nutrition choices and today’s generation is a lot more aware of the challenges than previous generations. This has given rise to the promulgation of the global organic food market, where consumers can pay a premium for non-GMO crops that are not treated with any chemicals, nitrogen bearing fertilizers etc. and are totally natural in every way possible.

What has led to the surge in demand for organic food. TechSci Research suggests that it is a plurality of factors that has led to this surge. The first, as mentioned above, is rising awareness levels. People are more knowledgeable about what they eat and how it affects them. Even Restaurants and hotels have started offering organic food for consumers across the world, keeping in mind the changing demand patterns. Second would be the easy availability of organic food. E-tail has been a game changer for this, with American companies such as Clif Bar & Company, Eden Foods, etc., among the prominent players offering organic foods through online stores. The latter is helping the youth connect to organic foods, and with increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases, youngsters have started consuming organic food on a daily basis due to presence of natural ingredients and high nutrition value.

Another factor that people, youngsters especially, find appreciable is the product diversity available nowadays in organic food items. Organic foods are no longer run of the mill fruits and vegetables; different flavors of yogurt, fruit juices, wine, coffee, tea, and packaged food, bread and cookies, and many others find themselves part of the organic food range. Companies know their target audience very well and are constantly tinkering with their product lines to come up with fresh and innovative products.

Consequently, as per “Global Organic Food Market, 2021”, the market for organic products globally is expected to grow in double digits, through 2021. While there are problems, such as the prevalence of multiple certification requirements and high labor costs, organic foods seems to be a trend that will not be out of fashion any time soon.

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