This year’s All Things Organic conference and expo showcased necessity as the mother of invention.  Slumping sales and a weak economy have forced the industry to innovate just to hold onto customers.

In a 2009 briefing on the organic packaged food market, Euromonitor International said the largest threat to the future growth of organic products is price sensitivity among U.S. consumers in the current economic climate.

“In previous years, many consumers were willing to trade up to premium products,” the briefing said. “However, more consumers are looking to trade down, as they can no longer afford to even try some premium products, much less purchase them on a regular basis.”

The response has been for some companies to expand their product offerings, such as Clorox’s Green Works laundry detergent, hitting store shelves this summer, and Rain Organic Vodka’s new lavender flavor.

Others are expanding their reach as they try to drive sales. Safeway’s O Organics line, for example, is now in other grocery chains, such as Albertsons.

Still, people were all smiles, saying that while their sales were down, their companies had still experienced growth.  In their eyes, weathering the economic storm means that they’re just that much more prepared for the recovery.

Watch the audio slide show below:

(Video by Reuters/Ian Sherr)

Natural and organic food grocer Whole Foods will sell 13 stores as part of a settlement that ends an antitrust battle with U.S. regulators over its acquisition of rival Wild Oats.

Is your store on the list?  

• 7133 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson, AZ
• 8688 E. Raintree Dr., Scottsdale, AZ
• 2584 Baseline Rd., Boulder, CO        
• 1651 Broadway St., Boulder, CO        
• 3180 New Center Pt., Colorado Springs, CO  
• 5910 S. University Blvd., Littleton, CO
• 9229 N Sheridan Blvd., Westminster, CO
• 340 N. Main St., West Hartford, CT  
• 4301 Main St., Kansas City, MO
• 1090 St. Francis Dr., Santa Fe, NM         
• 7250 W. Lake Mead Blvd., Las Vegas, NV
• 19440 N.W. Cornell Rd., Hillsboro, OR
• 6930 S. Highland Dr., Salt Lake City, UT

(Photo\Mike Blake, Reuters)

Food prices are on their way to posting their biggest increase in nearly 20 years and it’s not just the average consumer who is feeling the pain.

Whole Foods Markets Inc, the upscale supermarket chain known for selling natural and organic food to an affluent clientele, has rolled out programs to show consumers how to budget shop at its stores.

The chain — referred to by some as “Whole Paycheck” — has “value gurus” who take customers on a tour around the stores and show them how to get the best deals. It is highlighting its 365 private label brand, weekly promotions and other deals. And, it has launched “The Whole Deal,” a site that invites shoppers to share their money-saving tips.

Grocery stores have seen margins pressured as consumers pull back on certain organic food, switch to store brands from national brands and cook more meals at home rather than buying prepared food.

(Photo: Reuters)