Growth in sales of private-label food products at the expense of name brands is a trend that’s been strong for a few years and continues to gain momentum. Where organics are concerned, the story is slightly different, as the market remains less developed.

There’s little mystery behind private-label organic foods. Lower-cost, private-label organic products allow consumers on stretched budgets to continue buying essentially the same foods they’ve been purchasing for less cash. At right is a look at how this trend is playing out.

+10 percent
Growth in private-label food sales (all types) from 2007 to 2008.

1,800
Number of U.S. private-label foods introduced in the past year.

312
Number of foods sold under retailer Supervalu’s Wild Harvest organic brand, up from 150 about 6 months ago.

$2.99
Retail price for a 16 oz. jar of private-label organic peanut butter at Newflower Market in Tucson, Ariz. At the same store, name brand organic peanut butter retails for $4.79 per jar, about the same as conventional peanut butter.

$1.1 billion
Overall value of organic private-label foods sales during the past year. That’s up 34 percent.