Embracing Organic: A Strategic Move for Manufacturers Seeking Growth
Growing demand for organic wheat and grains offers manufacturers a unique opportunity to differentiate themselves in the highly competitive bread and bakery space. However, organic ingredients often come with specific pricing, sourcing and manufacturing challenges.
The following guide helps you better understand the organic opportunity, overcome the challenges that come with organic ingredients and capitalize on this powerful trend to grow your business.
The Conscious Consumer
Today, 45% of consumers already eat organic products, and that number is expected to be 4% higher by the end of 2024.1 This increasing participation in organic eating aligns with the rise of the conscious consumer, who is looking for foods that are perceived as “better-for-you” and better for the environment. These health-conscious consumers have a growing familiarity with and favorability toward organic ingredients like wheat, allowing you to capture an already engaged market segment.
With a wealth of information available to these consumers, they are also more informed about organic claims and agricultural labels like the USDA organic seal.2 Consumer research shows these organic claims favorably impact consumer consideration among 52% of consumers shopping in grocery stores and 45% ordering in restaurants.3
Even with rising prices, consumer spending on health and sustainability is not slowing down. Last year, organic food sales hit a record high of $63.8 billion.4 Trends also indicate that the price gap between organic and non-organic products is closing, which bodes well for your brand’s organic offerings in 2024 and beyond.5
The Investment in Organic
Ingredient pricing is a big consideration for bread and bakery manufacturers. It can be tempting to dismiss organic when it isn’t the most cost-effective option. However, ingredients like organic wheat are a strategic investment that, over time, can help attract health-conscious consumers and secure a stronger market position.
For example, here’s a look at how many consumers are willing to pay more for organic and sustainable grain-based foods6:
- 44% for organic (56% among the 18–34 age group).
- 43% for sustainably grown.
- 40% for ethically sourced.
- 33% for foods using regenerative agriculture.
When investing in organic ingredients, you need a sourcing partner that can ensure you have the organic ingredients to meet product demand. Suppliers like Ardent Mills have a reliable grower and supply network and can help you balance costs with benefits.
Organic Ingredients
While traditional wheat is the foundation for many bread and bakery products, heirloom wheats and organic grains can be blended with organic wheat to further diversify your bread and bakery offerings. For instance, mixing organic quinoa with organic wheat can help your product appeal to the 67% of consumers who claim the “supergrain” quinoa positively impacts a finished product’s nutritionals.7 Or, you can add a sweet, nutty flavor with an heirloom wheat like spelt. The many formulation possibilities for organic flours and grains offer an exciting opportunity to stand out in the marketplace while adding unique flavors and nutritional benefits.
Another way to stand out is with organic claims and agricultural labels. As we mentioned, many consumers factor them into their product considerations. That’s why it’s important to choose a supplier that has organic ingredients with the right certifications. Below are some of the certifications Ardent Mills’ organic flours and grains have received:
USDA Organic
Regenerative Organic Certified®
Non-GMO Project Verified
GFCO Gluten-Free Certified
Whole Grain Stamp
KOF-K Kosher Certification (Parve)
Fair Trade Certified
Selecting the right ingredients is key to meeting your goals, whether reformulating an existing product, developing something new or achieving specific product certifications. Ardent Mills offers a broad portfolio of organic wheat flours and grains for bakery applications to support your product strategy.
Overcoming Manufacturing Challenges
Manufacturing with organic wheat and grains presents new challenges related to storage. The ingredients must be kept separately from non-organic ingredients to maintain organic certifications and prevent cross-contamination. Organic flours and grains can also be more susceptible to pest infestations because of the regulations on fumigation for organic ingredients. Therefore, extra vigilance and preventative measures are required when storing these ingredients.8
Processing and packaging are additional areas that can be more costly when it comes to manufacturing organic products. You’ll need to obtain organic certification through the USDA to handle organic ingredients. Then, you’ll need to reconsider your formulations since many additives used with non-organic products are prohibited in organic products.9
Organic farming methods bring inherent challenges as well, primarily due to soil health and unpredictable weather. Unchecked, these problems can lead to inconsistency from one batch of wheat to another. Ardent Mills has the technical expertise to guide you through these issues and manage flour performance fluctuation with organic flour offerings at multiple protein levels, including pastry, whole wheat and bread flour.
The daily operation of larger manufacturers is also contingent upon the availability of a dependable supplier of organic wheat. Ardent Mills maintains an extensive network of organic flour production facilities throughout the United States to meet demand.
While these challenges require serious consideration, the upside to investing in organic and meeting consumer demand can be substantial. The right supplier partner can assist you in the storage, processing, consistency and quality control of organic food production, thus helping to ensure a smooth integration of organic ingredients into your manufacturing process.
Strategic Partnership with Ardent Mills
Over the last decade, the Ardent Mills grower network has doubled the nation’s supply of organic wheat and increased the supply of organic alternative and heirloom grains. However, we go beyond just being a trusted source for organic bread and bakery ingredients. We are a strategic partner that helps manufacturers and brands create product strategies for long-term success. Our experts understand the complexities of transitioning to or increasing organic production, and they can support you as you navigate the supply chain and regulatory compliance worlds. Along the way, we prioritize Purpose-Powered Innovation™ – combining business and product expertise with consumer and industry insights to drive innovation and help our customers navigate the organic product landscape with confidence.
1Ardent Mills Proprietary Research; U.S. Consumers 18+
2“Survey says: Most familiar + high trust = Organic,” Organic Trade Association, April 5, 2024, https://www.ota.com/news/press-releases/23100
3Ardent Mills Proprietary Research; U.S. Consumers 18+
4“US organic marketplace posts record sales in 2023,” Organic Trade Association, May 14, 2024, https://www.ota.com/news/press-releases/23183
5“US organic marketplace posts record sales in 2023,” Organic Trade Association, May 14, 2024, https://www.ota.com/news/press-releases/23183
6Ardent Mills Proprietary Research; U.S. Consumers 18+
7Ardent Mills Proprietary Research; U.S. Consumers 18+, among consumers aware of Quinoa
8Mary Barbercheck, Ph.D., “Management of Stored Grain Pests in Organic Systems,” PennState Extension, October 26, 2022, https://extension.psu.edu/management-of-stored-grain-pests-in-organic-systems
9“What should I know about using salt and preservatives in organic food?”, USDA, https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/7%20Salt%20and%20Preservatives%20FINAL%20RGK%20V2.pdf