Specialty Food Stores NAICS 4452

Aug 13, 2025 - Changing Produce Shopper Base

• The customer base for fresh produce – a key category for many specialty food stores – is evolving, with millennials overtaking baby boomers in terms of fresh produce sales growth, Supermarket News reports. While boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) still spend the most on produce, millennials accounted for more than two-thirds (68%) of fresh produce dollar growth in the last year, said Anne-Marie Roerink, president of market research and marketing strategies firm 210 Analytics LLC. “With millennial dollars growing fast, retailers should study sales data and re-balance the conventional and organic assortments in accordance with the group’s interests,” Roerink said, adding that includes retailers in different sales channels. Millennials’ concern for the health of the planet creates big opportunities for organic produce in particular. Research firm Circana reported that organic produce volume sales were up 5.4% over the last year versus 2.9% for conventional produce.
• Shoppers at Whole Foods Market and other grocery stores encountered sparsely-stocked and bare shelves following a cyberattack on distributor United Natural Foods (UNFI) in June, The Wall Street Journal reports. The cyberattack cut into sales over several days as Whole Foods and UNFI’s other retail customers weren’t able to place orders through regular digital channels leaving many grocery store shelves bare, according to WSJ. The incident exposed the food supply chain’s vulnerability to cyberattacks, with some retailers unable to place orders with the distributor and UNFI unable to order from food companies. Retailers heavily dependent on a primary distributor are especially vulnerable to supply disruptions from cyberattacks and must rely on manual processes or scramble to find backup suppliers during outages. Whole Foods’ contract with UNFI requires it to maintain cyber insurance and a business-continuity plan that's tested regularly, with written results provided to Whole Foods.

• US sales of certified organic products accelerated in 2024 with an annual growth rate of 5.2%, more than double that of the overall marketplace, which grew at 2.5% over the same period, according to the 2025 Organic Market Report released by the Organic Trade Association. Dollar sales hit a new high of $71.6 billion, with organic food sales totaling $65.4 billion and sales of organic nonfood products at $6.2 billion. As food price inflation moderated last year, the gap between conventional and organic prices across categories including grocery and dairy narrowed, making shoppers more likely to buy organic, according to OTA. Organic produce held on to the top spot, accounting for 30.1% of total organic sales with a growth rate of 5.2% for the year. Organic berry sales rose 10.3%, while sales of organic bananas climbed 15.5%.
• Producer prices for specialty food stores stayed flat in June compared to a year ago, after rising 3.3% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Employment by specialty food stores inched up 0.6% year over year in May, while average industry wages rose 8% over the same period to a new high of $19.83 per hour, BLS data show. Consumer spending on food and beverages continues to rise – up 0.3% in June versus May, per the Bureau of Economic Analysis – helping offset rising labor costs for specialty food retailers.