Once familiar to only a small segment of the population, organic products have gone mainstream in recent years,
gaining recognition both domestically and throughout the world.
To understand how U.S. organic product sales have grown to more than $20 billion a year and what
steps will be needed to continue this momentum, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) conducted
interviews and group feedback sessions with over 200 industry stakeholders. To do this, they in-
corporated SWOT analysis, a strategic planning method and research tool used by both presti-
gious academic organizations and Fortune 500 companies to evaluate the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats directly related to a project, business—or, in this
case, an industry—striving to meet its objectives for the future. Typically, strengths and
weaknesses are drawn from an internal evaluation, while opportunities and threats rep-
resent external conditions. SWOT findings can be used to inform us of how we, the or-
ganic community, can go forward to meet our common objective of continuing the growth
of the industry as a whole.
To help you put this tool to best use, we have included a cross-reference at the bottom of
each section that connects possible strengths and weaknesses to coordinating threats and
opportunities and vice versa. The strengths and weaknesses are discussed in the first section,
followed by threats and opportunities in the second half. Please note that the information contained
below is a summary of all the responses received, and therefore does not reflect the attitudes or opinions
of any given individual or company. Instead, it is intended to provide an overview of
the organic industry, as articulated by the collective
voices of the stakeholders involved in this research.
STRENGTHS
• Organic Legislation: OFPA of 1990
• Consumer Demand: Double-digit growth
• Verifiable Label: Third-party verification from
seed to shelf; organic as original green and •
sustainable
• Strong Scientific Research: Mounting proof
of the benefit of organic for health and the
environment
• Supportive Organizations: Foundation of
resources to build on
OPPORTUNITIES
• The New Farm Bill: Funding for marketing and
research
• Environmental Leadership: Chance to be the
green role model on all levels
• Price Gap Closing: Conventional prices rising
more than organic
• Consumer Education: Use new media to educate and respond to misinformation; focus on
environmental and personal benefit message
WEAKNESSES
• Consumer Confusion: Consumers still don’t
really know what organic means; technical
language not compelling to consumers
Lack of Regulation in Emerging Categories:
Personal care and textiles still voluntary
processing standards
• Price Barrier: Higher costs; consumer perception that organic is too expensive
• Limited Agricultural Data
THREATS
• Competing Labels: Creates consumer confusion
• Domestic Supply: End up importing, creating
dependence
• Global Trade Barriers: Export issues; lack of
equivalency
• Biotech Growth: Orchestrated attacks and
possible contamination
• Opposing Voices: Misinformation sent to the
media
