Jim Olson, SPINS Senior Retail Insights Manager
Two decades ago, a handful of pioneering natural food retailers combined their influence in service of a common goal; expanding healthy food access for all. A few years later, SPINS proudly partnered with INFRA in service of that same goal. Since then, the U.S. Natural Products industry has tripled in size, from $97B in 2004 to over $325B in 2024, and the natural food landscape has seen many trends and innovations push the industry forward. Most admirably, many of these same trends and innovations got their start within INFRA’s member-owned stores–stores consistently recognized as incubators and trusted partners for emerging natural food brands.
Here are just a few of the many natural and organic food trends of the past 20 years and the ways INFRA is inexorably intertwined.
Organic’s Journey from Roots to Regeneration
One can’t speak to the natural and organic industry without considering the impact of the word ‘organic’ itself. It wasn’t until 1990 when the Rodale Institute partnered with the USDA to create the National Organic Program (NOP) and gave the movement a name with backing. The NOP helped inform the definition of organic (farming without the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and other harmful chemicals) and allowed for an official certification that could be displayed on a product’s packaging.
Today, organic is seen as table stakes for many brands and consumers, especially across INFRA, where organic sales are up 11% compared to 7% for the larger retail landscape. Most exciting is the evolution of organic labeling, which today is represented by the Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) wherein manufacturers not only commit to the tenants of the NOP but go a step further to ensure protection for planet, people, and animals impacted by their production process. ROC growth far outpaces that of generalized organic, with ROC growth up 26% across INFRA compared to 14% industry-wide–a tribute to the way that INFRA stores champion the cutting edge of natural foods.
Certification Surplus
In a similar vein, what started with the NOP has branched out dramatically during INFRA’s existence. In 2004, Fair Trade USA (+22% growth at INFRA) was founded after getting its start in Europe, and a few years later saw the birth of both The Non-GMO Project (+9%) and B-Corp (+3%) and their affiliated certifications. Since then, SPINS has been able to track over two dozen leading certifications and label claims tied to the natural and organic food industry, including newer options like Certified Upcycled (+20%) and even the Certified Seed Oil Free Alliance (+11%), just introduced in the back half of 2025.
Most importantly, each one of the listed examples all showed stronger growth at INFRA than the larger industry–once again asserting INFRA’s position as home to better-for- you ingredients and products.
Alternative Options for All
While INFRA stores have done an amazing job offering a breadth of natural and organic options through the years, it’s the depth of choice that best speaks to the success of the movement twenty years on. In 2005, accessible non-dairy milk usually meant a single brand of soy milk; in 2025, non-dairy milk can be found at grocery stores, coffee shops, and restaurants in nearly two dozen forms tracked by SPINS. Mushrooms were relegated to pizza toppings and bulk bins at the local coop; nowadays popular varieties like chaga, cordyceps, reishi and maitake are key functional ingredients across two dozen product categories, and drove $6M in sales at INFRA this past year alone (up 13% year over year).
Whether through certifications, functional ingredients, or just a depth and breadth of natural food alternatives, INFRA has been and continues to be the home of innovative, healthier options. Now reaching 49 states and hundreds of communities, INFRA and its members have made the dream of accessible natural food for all closer to reality than ever before. One can only imagine what the next twenty years will bring, but all can be confident that INFRA will remain in service to its members, who in turn will continue their vital work of providing healthy, sustainable foods to their communities.
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