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In 2004, there were 85,000 grocery stores in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
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Grocery stores ranked among the largest industries, providing 2.4 million wage-and-salary jobs.
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U.S. households spend 13.1 percent of pretax income on food, and 58.6 percent of that goes toward food consumed at home.
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In 2004, U.S. sales for food consumed at home were estimated at $808 billion.
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Organic products are growing rapidly in the US as there was an 18 percent growth in 2004 for U.S. sales of $10.9 billion
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sales for natural foods or health and wellness products were $68 billion in 2004, up 8.5 percent from 2003
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About 18 percent of women grocery shop on a given day for an average of 45 minutes, compared with 11 percent of men who averaged 39 minutes.
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U.S. sales of organic food and beverages have grown from $1 billion in 1990 to an estimated $20 billion in 2007, and are projected to reach nearly $23 billion in 2008. Organic food sales are anticipated to increase an average of 18 percent each year from 2007 to 2010.
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Representing approximately 2.8 percent of overall food and beverage sales in 2006, organic food sales continues to be a fast growing sector, growing 20.9 percent in 2006.
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Organic non-food sales grew 26 percent in 2006.
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Total U.S. organic sales, including food and non-food products, were $17.7 billion in 2006, up 21 percent from 2005. They are estimated to have reached $21.2 billion in 2007, and are projected to surpass $25 billion in 2008.
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Mass market grocery stores represent the largest single distribution channel, accounting for 38 percent of organic food sales in 2006. This is up from a 35 percent share of total sales in 2005.
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The sales of larger grocery natural food stores combined with smaller independent natural food stores and chains accounts for 44 percent of organic food and beverage sales.
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8 percent, 4 percent, 2.2 percent, and 2 percent of organic food sales, respectively.
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Global demand for organic products continues to grow, with sales increasing by over $5 billion a year
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It cited Organic Monitor estimates that international sales reached $38.6 billion dollars in 2006, double that in 2000.
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The most important import markets for organic products continue to be the European Union, the United States, and Japan.
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Total household penetration across six product categories has risen from 57 percent in 2006 to 59 percent in 2007.
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The research also showed that the number of core users has increased from 16 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2007.
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Chefs ranked organic food as third on a list of the top 20 items for 2007.
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More than half of fine-dining operators who serve organic food anticipated these items would represent a larger portion of sales in 2007. In addition, casual- and family-dining operators expected organic items to represent a larger proportion of their sales in 2007.
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