Organic Products

The Detroit News: Joel Fisher made selling toothpaste, antacids and toilet paper at discount prices popular when he started F&M Distributors with family members in the 1960s. Now he’s tapping into another discount market with organic foods, natural products and alternative treatments.
Fisher opened Natural Food Patch, a 5,200-square-foot health food store on West Nine Mile in Ferndale, in 1999. With sales growing 20 percent annually, Fisher plans to open a second store in Macomb County within a year.
“This is the only industry with double-digit growth every year,” said Fisher, 62. “No business that I’ve seen, after six years, shows that kind of increase.” Organic products have gained widespread appeal as baby boomers get older and as Americans embrace healthier lifestyles.
Sales of organic foods and beverages — which are produced naturally without pesticides, drugs and growth hormones — surged to $15.4 billion last year, from $1 billion in 1990, according to market research firm Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com Inc. in New York.
Former F&M owner’s new business grows [detnews.com]