Greater demand, competition ahead for biggest US organic grocery chain

Washington

THE organic grocery business is expected to explode in the next several years as Americans become increasingly focused on healthy diets and fresh ingredients. Interest in free-range meat, sustainable seafood and locally grown fruits and vegetables is likely to propel sales in this category by 92 per cent by 2018, according to forecasters at consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle.

And that's both good and bad news for Whole Foods Market, which has long reigned as the nation's largest organic grocery chain. While it means there's increasing demand for the kind of products the Austin, Texas-based grocer is peddling, it also means Whole Foods is facing more competition than ever from the likes of Sprouts and Fresh Market and from major retailers such as Kroger and Walmart that are taking note of the category's big growth opportunities.