Biodynamic Food: The Beginning of the Next Food Revolution

Faced with the increasing commoditization of organic (Costco, Walmart, et al all now have it) and the enhanced flavors of Biodynamically farmed foods natural foods retailers and producers are upping their game by going Biodynamic.

On Earth Day this year, Whole Foods sent out a promotional flyer on Biodynamic products to its entire customer email list. Here's how the giant retailer explains the farming behind these products.

(You will also see an increasing number of new certifications in the marketplace for regenerative organic agriculture.)

It was Whole Foods' tremendous growth - aided by organics (in an era when organic food was not as available) - that drove other supermarket chains to emulate them. The explosive growth of Whole Foods, natural food stores and grocery sales of organic now underlies the $45.2 billion organic food sector, which grew 6.4 percent in 2017.

The fact that there is a newly emerging Biodynamic food was a big part of Demeter USA President Elizabeth Candelario's message to attendees of the first International Biodynamic Wine Conference in May.

What does the coming Biodynamic food wave mean for Biodynamic wine in the U.S.?

No one can answer that question today since enthusiasm for organic food has, so far, been only a limited factor influencing the sales of organically grown wines.

But there are signs in the marketplace that this is changing, thanks to Millenials. (I've been researching the organic and Biodynamic wine marketplace trends for a new article I'm writing for Beverage Media right now.) Wineries are seeing double digit sales growth in Denver and Austin, for instance, for organically grown wines, driven by Millenials. And Natural Grocers, a nationwide natural foods store chain (akin to Sprouts) is leading a new charge to offer the widest product assortment of organic and BD wines the marketplace has ever seen. (More on that in a future post soon).

According to a recent Organic Trade Association study, Millenial parents are the largest segment of organic (food) shoppers in the U.S.

Take a look at one of the brand new ads from one of the natural foods brands launching Biodynamic products that appeal to this segment, too: White Leaf.