Over the years, the global movement towards healthier lifestyles has placed significant emphasis on eating foods that are not only beneficial for our bodies, but also produced in ways that are sustainable and kind to the environment. This shift has brought terms like “natural” and “organic” to the forefront of consumer consciousness, both globally and in India.
Amidst this positive shift, however, confusion often clouds the understanding of these terms, underscoring the need for Indian organic brands to demystify them to increase their value perception in the minds of Indian consumers. To address this tricky challenge, this Report identifies four key factors that can enable organic brands to stand out in a marketplace crowded with “natural” claims.
Furthermore, this Report explores the food & drink categories within the organic sector poised for substantial growth.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Consumer associations with ”natural” and ”organic” food & drink
- Four ways for organic to compete with natural food & drink
- Organic food & drink categories purchased in the last three months
- Attitudes and barriers towards organic food & drink
- Three key trends shaping India’s organic food & drink industry
Elevate organics' perceived value by highlighting purity, safety, health benefits and eco-friendliness; explore diverse food & drink categories to expand the choices available.
Tulsi Joshi, Senior Food & Drink Analyst, India
Market Definitions
In this report, the term “organic food & drink” encompasses a wide range of sub-categories within the food and beverage sector that assert an “organic” claim on their packaging. This category encapsulates various food & drink items, including fruits and vegetables, seasonings, bakery ingredients, tea, coffee, staples, dairy, ready-to-drink beverages, snacks and ready-to-eat/cook foods. This classification excludes alcoholic beverages, specialised nutritional supplements and baby foods.
Similarly, “natural food & drink” is defined as those products claiming to be all-natural, herbal/botanical, or devoid of artificial preservatives, additives, colourings or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
This report aims to understand Indian consumers’ attitudes towards organic food & drink in all sub-categories. It includes sub-categories like fruit and vegetables, seasonings, bakery ingredients, tea, dried legumes, grains, ghee , dairy, and some processed foods.
It excludes alcoholic beverages, specialised nutrition supplements and baby foods.
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Executive Summary
- Report definition
- Mintel's perspective
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- Natural surpasses organic in perceptions of safety, purity, health and eco-friendliness
- Four ways organic can stand tall against natural
- Venture across food & drink categories to target existing organic consumers
- Existing organic consumers have an appetite for organic options across food & drink categories
- Mintel predicts
- The outlook for organic food & drink, 2024
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Key Trends
- What you need to know
- The rise of sceptical consumers and the clean label movement
- Social media influencers are encouraging consumers to read the fine print
- Metro consumers are becoming sceptical about packaged food & drink claims
- Brands are making transparency their unique selling point
- Wicked Gud shines the spotlight on the presence of chemicals to raise the clean label standards in noodles
- The Whole Truth helps buyers understand the ingredients and nutrients in its products
- Brands tell their provenance story to enhance authenticity and transparency
- Health and naturalness continue to drive value
- The health movement continues to gather momentum, with a surge in spending on health and wellness
- Graph 1: consumers who spend on health and wellness products on a monthly basis, 2022 vs 2023
- Naturalness is becoming an integral part of health
- Naturalness and nutrition remain the top value drivers for Indian consumers
- Graph 2: most important factors when shopping for food*, 2021-24
- Consumers' continued desire for nutrition and naturalness drives brands to clean up their recipes and offer nutritient-dense options
- Graph 3: select claim categories in food and drink launches, 2004-24
- Better-for-you food & drink goes natural
- Ethical consumerism is on the rise
- Ethical consumerism is on the rise among Indians
- Localism resonates with younger consumers in upper-tier cities
- Graph 4: top factors considered while purchasing products, by city tier and age group, 2023
- Local brands are spearheading community empowerment initiatives
- Indians expect brands to do the heavy lifting when it comes to environmental issues
- Graph 5: consumer attitudes towards sustainability*, 2023
- Indian brands are undertaking sustainable initiatives
- Modern brands are seen to promote circularity to win over the eco-conscious youth
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What consumers want and why
- What you need to know
- Natural proposition is mainstream and on-par with regular products, while organic remains niche
- Graph 6: food & drink types purchased in the last three months, 2024
- Graph 7: organic food & drink purchase in the last three months, by current financial situation, 2024
- Natural claims grew faster than organic over the last decade
- Graph 8: % of launches with select claim in food and drinks, 2015-24
- The premium paradox: enhance adoption by emphasising organic's perceived value
- Ask consumers to put a price tag on the organic conversion process
- Indian value-seekers prioritise health benefits, naturalness and environment above low price
- Graph 9: value-for-money indicators in food & drink*, 2023
- Ways to win against natural
- Organic products need to distinguish themselves from natural
- Natural trumps organic in terms of perceived safety, purity and healthfulness
- Graph 10: typical associations with natural and organic food & drink, 2024
- Organic's associations with health, eco-friendliness, purity and safety dips even more among buyers
- Graph 11: organic buyers' associations with natural and organic food & drink, 2024
- Four key foundational features for organic to outshine natural
- Spotlight safety
- Scepticism persists on organic's safety
- Use safety to draw distinctions between natural and organic
- Educate consumers on the ill effects of synthetic pesticides on health and wellbeing
- Graph 12: agreement with select statement about organic foods, by employment status and gender, 2024
- Burst natural's: expose a lack of safety features by making direct comparisons to organic
- The time is ripe to go bolder on the 'no harmful pesticides' conversation
- Vivek & Pure Organic spotlights its use of naturally derived, non-toxic pesticides
- Highlight proof of purity
- Homemakers are concerned about adulteration in food & drink, but organic is not on their minds
- Graph 13: consumer associations between organic food & drink and purity, by employment and parental status, 2024
- Graph 14: agreement with select statement about adulteration of grocery items, by employment and parental status, 2024
- Build purity narrative with certifications and local farm-to-table stories
- Explicitly show certifications on pack as stamp of authenticity and purity
- Ride the localism trend with provenance transparency
- Graph 15: select categories in which consumers have bought local brands in the last six months and intend to buy in the future, 2023
- Leverage the provenance connection
- Strengthen the purity claim and empower local communities with farm-to-table narratives
- Hone in on the health and wellness benefits
- Organic lacks a positive health halo; bridge the gap by elevating health perceptions
- Show measurable proof on organic's healthfulness
- Status quo: functional health claims are mainstream in natural and organic products, but organic lags behind on plus and minus claims
- Graph 16: organic food & drink launches with select claims, 2021-24
- Fortify organic food & drink to justify 'plus' claims
- Graph 17: organic and natural food & drink launches with plus claims, 2021-24
- Fortify organic food & drink with vitamins and minerals to enhance health appeal
- Ride the protein wave
- Make gut health a priority by emphasising high-fibre and digestive claims
- The eco-friendly frontier
- Eco-wakening arrives in India
- Organic products make broader eco-friendly claims, but shy away from delving into the details of sourcing, packaging and recycling
- Graph 18: organic food & drink launches with select claims, 2021-24
- Graph 19: organic food & drink launches with select claims, 2021-24
- Put eco-friendly claims front and centre
- Links water crises and soil health with sustainable farming
- #Arakunomics shows the impactful role brands can play in sustainable and ethical business practices
- Take inspiration from global brands to talk about carbon-neutrality
- Adopt an eco score to appeal to the most eco-conscious organic shoppers
- Eco-friendly packaging can drive premiumsation in gifting
- Graph 20: consumer interest in eco-friendly claims when buying food & drink gifts during the festive season, by socio-economic class, 2022
- Innovate eco-friendly organic food & drink gift hampers for affluent consumers
- Merge health, safety, purity and eco-consciousness for greater impact
- Types of organic food & drink consumed
- Fresh groceries and kitchen staples, followed by tea and coffee, are the most-purchased organic food & drink categories
- Graph 21: types of organic food & drink purchased in the last three months, 2024
- Farmizen: a direct farm-to-fork marketplace for organic foods
- Emphasise farm partnerships to  strengthen consumer confidence
- Offer convenience with recipe-based vegetable/fruit baskets
- Organic food buyers tend to opt for organic options across multiple food & drink categories
- Graph 22: repertoire of organic food & drink categories consumed in the last three months, 2024
- Kitchen staples enjoy universal appeal among organic consumers
- Graph 23: select organic food & drink categories purchased in the last three months, 2024
- Graph 24: share of food & drink sub-categories with an organic claim, 2021-24
- Recruit discerning consumers with organic staples
- Appeal to organic pulse consumers with unpolished offerings, undertaking brand-building initiatives and highlighting quick-cooking convenience
- Graph 25: factors considered by organic pulse consumers when choosing pulses, 2024
- Highlight and communicate the quick-cooking feature of organic pulses
- Provide smaller organic rice packs
- Graph 26: organic rice consumers' agreement with select statements, 2024
- Graph 27: organic rice launches, by pack size, 2021-24
- Organic tea grows, while coffee remains niche; target East- and West-region dwellers with organic tea/coffee
- Graph 28: consumers who purchased organic tea or coffee in the last three months, by region, 2024
- Graph 29: launches in select categories with an organic claim, 2021-24
- Stress and sleep, slimming and beauty benefits are trending in organic tea
- Graph 30: organic tea launches with select claims, 2021-24
- Spotlight adaptogenic ingredients for mental wellbeing
- Organic tea can stand out by emphasising specific weight-loss benefits
- Organic tea brands can make bolder healthy skin and anti-ageing claims
- Take a more-ethical, eco-friendly stance to better target eco-conscious coffee drinkers
- Pure & Sure Organic Coffee goes big on clean label
- Go (organic) nuts! Target metro dwellers with organic nuts
- Graph 31: nut launches with an organic claim, 2021-24
- Graph 32: consumers who have purchased organic nuts in the last three months, 2024
- The time is ripe for offer organic nuts; give a flavour twist to storm the Indian market
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Appendix
- Report definition
- Consumer survey methodology
- Repertoire analysis
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