You're watching...
Stonyfield CEO Gary Hirshberg on the growth in organic food sales and the decreasing cost of organic goods.
Also in this playlist...
Auto-advance: ON
Auto-advance
This transcript is automatically generated
This organic food huge growth in this industry specially -- we'll bring up some numbers for you from last year the organic food industry the United States.
Nine point 5% growth to reach over 31 billion dollars in sales so why such strong growth.
Let's ask Gary -- birth he's chairman and co-founder of stony field.
Well this mad cow scare and might just be one Calvin that helps your business as well the.
Mad cow this week pink slime last week announced.
It's I think Americans are finally starting to realize we truly are what we eat and if we don't -- carefully it will make us there.
A lot of people I mean and we we talk about the Salina and I think we both.
By -- mostly organic stuff.
But the issue for a lot of people this crisis is still some people say I can't afford it yet but is that changing or dramatically to -- impact I'm here in New York because I'm opening an organic and natural fast food restaurant tonight and and you would come into this restaurant at Chelsea Piers and see that the pricing is really no different from fast casual chipotle isn't.
And others that you would see anywhere around here.
That the that the pretty big drivers volume as we get that greater greater volumes were bringing that price gap down.
This to this two things that drive my premium one is that set up until now they supply has not kept up the demand.
And the second is of course we're competing and I'm -- level playing that we have a lot of subsidies on the other side with subsidized corn and grain and feed.
And so on but I -- -- five or six organic company boards from my on obviously to Applegate farms they're gonna beef company honest they -- It's yet Campbell a lake to like organic -- case.
And all of us are watching that premium come down slowly but surely it will probably never be as.
Cheap is cheap food but on the other hand cheap food is really not -- you pay -- sooner or later usually -- in and help from.
If them.
Americans are eating better and focusing more on organic why are we fat.
As a nation wire well again it doesn't take Arafat right organic doesn't think you are -- mindset is -- for them to buy organic and they wouldn't care about what his.
The good news the good news as he just -- and that is that's a 31 billion dollar segment up compound annual growth -- up in the double digits now over twelve years running including through the recession.
Nine point 1% was actually slow growth here for organics relative to the last funds.
But -- the flip side of that is only 6% of telling US food so we still have a little ways to go.
When I started in business -- used to say that in 1983 weeks to say we had a wonderful company just no supply and no demands but that has changed now the average consumer.
Understands that organic -- -- they can't be all their foods organic.
But a -- here a beer there right OK there is every little bit make today are you optimistic study get to -- -- question because sub do we think about at our house who have little kids and you can get.
You get our data can gluten free and everything a brownies and cookies and -- -- so we always -- don't get that -- get the healthy stuff.
But are you optimistic that we're gonna be healthier nation and not a lot of -- -- I don't know AM we see it first artist of the animals organic house -- to three times longer than conventional castle which how do you want your -- to come from now.
But indeed with the organics that we the America that that the president's cancer panel has written -- already announced -- 41% of Americans alive today.
Will be diagnosed of cancers may implicate chemicals of the primary -- So you know people say to me organic -- -- I say over these last sixty years sects of the chemicals that are not proven.
And the -- is finally starting to come and fast food organic Katz pinnacle thank you coming to a neighborhood near you think they're a -- some might have your -- has -- -- failed investors watching.
