Whole Grain Statistics

Whole grains are growing at a remarkable rate – proving in market after market that consumers worldwide are beginning to understand the importance of enjoying more whole grains. To help those of you in the media paint the complete picture, we've collected industry figures, and reports from our members on this page, to document the whole grain surge.

Success & Awareness of the Whole Grain Stamp

In 2008, consumers will see the Whole Grain Stamp more than 815,000,000 times on products in the U.S., Canada and the UK. Click here to learn more about the success of the Whole Grain.

Whole Grain Growth Worldwide, 2000-2008

New product launches of foods making a "whole grain" claim have grown sharply since 2000. In fact, according to the Mintel Global New Products Database, in 2007 nearly 15 times as many new whole grain products were introduced worldwide as in the year 2000.

	whole grain launches	increase over year 2000	increase over previous year
2000	164	--	--
2001	264	61%	61%
2002	324	98%	23%
2003	418	155%	29%
2004	678	313%	62%
2005	846	416%	25%
2006	1578	862%	87%
2007	2368	1344%	50%
2008*	753	N/A	N/A

* 2008 data runs through March 31, 2008.

WG New Product Launches by Category

Again according to Mintel, bakery, breakfast cereals and snacks now account for the largest number of new product introductions, with side dishes and meals gaining quickly:

Category	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008*
Baby food	3	4	6	1	8	4	28	73	7
Bakery	84	116	158	216	340	342	638	798	279
Beverages	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	18	3
Breakfast Cereals	37	90	79	115	176	252	423	708	226
Meals & Meal Centers	7	4	11	10	25	27	63	89	42
Side Dishes	18	18	47	31	49	94	117	220	66
Snacks	2	23	16	35	59	100	274	408	109
Other	13	9	7	10	21	26	33	54	21
Total	164	264	324	418	678	846	1578	2368	753

* 2008 data runs through March 31, 2008.

Whole Grains are Hot Trend for Restaurants in 2008

All signs point to strong growth in whole grains in the restaurant sector.

Whole Grain a Top Menu Trend
Mintel Menu Insights, by tracking restaurant menus across the country, identified 8 top restaurant trends for 2008 and "Grain Goodness" was Number 4. "With the health benefits of whole grains becoming more widely know," stated Mintel, "certain nutritious grains will grow on the American restaurant menu. Kamut, quinoa, barley and millet pack a worldly punch along with healthy, esssential nutrients. These grains are the ideal backdrop for tomorrow's innovative ethnic flavor and health trends."

Wheat Bread Tops Sandwich Choices
A 2007 report from the International Dairy, Deli and Bakery Association (IDDBA) ranked the top 10 favorite breads for luncheon sandwiches. Wheat was number one, followed by Submarine/French (2), Multigrain (3), Sourdough (4), Croissant (5), Rye (6), Tortilla (7), White (8), Flatbread (9) and Pita (10).

Chefs Vote for Whole Grain Bread
In October 2007, the National Restaurant Association asked 1282 chefs to rate 194 different culinary trends as "hot," "passé," or "perennial favorite." 28% rated whole grain bread as a perennial favorite, with another 56% rating it "hot."

Surveys: Consumers seek out whole grains

Whole Grains and Fiber Take 3 of Top 6 Spots
When consumers were asked, unaided, to name a specific food or component with health benefits, these were the top six foods named. Compared to a similar survey two years earlier, awareness of whole grains grew 25% from 2005 to 2007.

Top Functional Foods
1. Fruits and vegetables
2. Fish, fish oil, seafood
3. Milk
4. Whole Grains
5. Fiber
6. Oats, oat bran, oatmeal

When asked about the specific benefits of the top functional foods, 72% of these consumers (again unaided) associated whole grains with benefits related to cardiovascular disease, and 86% associated both fiber and whole grains with intestinal health.

2007 Consumer Attitudes toward Functional Foods / Foods for Health. IFIC, October 2007

Whole Grains Up, Refined Carbs Down
When consumers were asked to “Please indicate whether you are trying to consume more or less of the following,” they said they were seeking out whole grains:

Refined carbs 61% “trying to consume less”
Whole grains 71% “trying to consume more”

2007 Food & Health Survey. IFIC, May 2007

Taste Becomes One of Many Motivators
While it is commonly believed that many consumers eat whole grains despite their stronger taste, we are learning that some consumers have come to prefer the fuller, nuttier taste of whole grains – and only ten percent of those survey reported never eating whole grains.

“What is your primary reason for choosing to eat whole grain products?”

Nutritional value ...32%
Increased fiber ...31%
Better taste ...13%
Reduced calories ...4%
Change of pace ...4%
Less refined grains ...3%
Other ...5%
None – I don’t eat them ...10%

Harris Interactive Survey of 1,040 adults, conducted January 2006, titled “Healthy Eating: Impact on the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry”

Whole Grain Flour Production up 26% in 1 Year

“The 26% growth in whole wheat flour production [in] 2005-06 represented an extra-ordinary pace of increase for an industry as mature as grain-based foods.”
World-Grain.com / Milling & Baking News, May 2007

Year ending...	hundredweights (cwts) of whole grain flour	increase over previous year
May 31, 2003	7,133,000	---
May 31, 2004	8,559,600	20%
May 31, 2005	9,844,000	15%
May 31, 2006	12,386,000	26%
May 31, 2007 (projected)	15,482,500	25%

Market growth Q1 2005 vs Q4 2004

According to market research AC Neilsen, the whole grain market grew rapidly at the beginning of 2005:

category	increase
Frozen whole grain prepared foods	168%
Whole grain pasta	27.4%
Whole grain cereal	8.3%
Whole grain bread & baked foods	7.4%

More Growth, Year Ending June 18, 2005

category	increase	sales now
WG cookies	1364%
WG muffins	287%	$23.4m
WG buns (fresh)	23%	$22m
WG bread & baked goods	18.3%	$1.1b
WG crackers	10.2%	$330m
WG cereal	0.8%

This growth compares to less than one percent growth in the whole grain market overall between 2000 and 2004.

Reports from the Press

These excerpts from reputable publications further detail the increase in whole grain sales and consumption:

"According to AC Nielsen… whole grain pasta sales rose 26 percent just last year [in the 52 weeks ending June 17, 2006]."
Phil Lempert, MSNBC, July 2006

"Sales of white wheat products have jumped 55 percent since the same time last year."
Jason Hirsch, AP, May 2006

"While overall sales of fresh bagels have risen 4% to 5% in the year to date, sales of whole wheat bagels have increased nearly 30%."
Baking Business, October 2005

"White bread was 53% [of bread sales] in 2003, now 46.9% in 2005. Whole wheat was 43.8% in 2003 and rose to 46.6% in 2005."
Packaged Facts/Market Research "Bread Products in the US"

Reports from WG Council Members

Many of the individual members of the Whole Grains Council have also seen big increases in their sales of whole grain products. Here are some first-hand reports. Call Cynthia Harriman at 617-896-4820 or email if you would like contact information for any of these members, to learn more:

Nature's Path
According to Spins data for 52 weeks ending November 5, 2005, natural cold cereal in the conventional channel is growing at 12.8%. Nature's Path as a brand is growing at 23.5%, almost double that of the category. We have 12 of the top 100 selling cereals, 10 of which are whole grain with an average growth rate of 46.68%.
Maria Emmer-Aanes, Director of Marketing (January 2006)

Rubschlager Baking Corp.
Our 100% rye breads – our Rye-Ola breads – are up 8.3% for 2005, as compared to 2004. These are very dense, European-style whole grain breads, and not as widely distributed as some of our lighter breads; we're surprised and delighted with this increase.
Joan Rubschlager, Owner (January, 2006)

King Arthur Flour Company
We introduced our line of whole grain mixes to The Baker’s Catalogue at King Arthur Flour in fall of 2005. After just a few short months, 80% of the pancake mixes we sell are now whole grain, as are 30% of the muffin mixes we sell. And our whole-grain scone mix has sold more units than any of our other 10 flavors of scones.
Sarah McGinley-Smith, Media Relations Manager (January 2006)

Barbara's Bakery
We are very pleased with the sales of our whole grain cereals this past year, with sales up over 24% – after 21% growth in 2004! We anticipate even stronger growth in 2006, with the addition of our two new cereals, Organic Weetabix Crispy Flakes and Organic Weetabix Crispy Flakes & Fiber, both offering more than a serving of whole grains.
Kent Spalding, Director of Marketing (January 2006)

Sunnyland Mills
Sunnyland Mills, the country's leading manufacturer of premium bulgur and grano, reports a surge in sales over last year, culminating in a 75% increase in sales in August 2005 compared with August 2004.
Mike Orlando, President (August, 2005)

Hodgson Mills
Hodgson Mills, a leading manufacturer of whole grain pasta, reports that as a category, total Pasta unit sales (individual packages) in the U.S. were down 2.8% for the 12 month period ending May 2005. Hodgson Mill’s pasta sales were up 20.3% during the same time period.
Paul Kirby, VP Sales & Marketing (August, 2005)

Rudi's Organic Bakery
At Rudi's Organic Bakery, our #1 Item is our 100% Honey Sweet Whole Wheat Bread. In 2004, our dollar sales on this item increased 61.3% in natural foods supermarkets, and 39.7% in groceries.
Victoria Hartman, VP Sales (January, 2005)

Rice Select (RiceTek)
InfoScan shows US brown rice sales to be a $70 million item annually, and up nearly 16% in unit sales for the 12 week period ending Nov. 28, 2004. Most importantly, brown rice sales have gained at the expense of white rice up 13%. That is a significant increase in brown rice sales versus white rice as brown rice now represents 12.8% of the dry rice category vs. 11.33% for the same 12 week period last year. We (RiceSelect) have the eighth best selling brown rice item, 36oz Texmati Long Grain American basmati brown rice, and our shipments of that item were up over 20% (in dollars) for calendar year 2004. That is triple the growth we saw on this item last year. Sales or our 1kg Organic Texmati brown rice jar are up over 35% and that growth is double what we have seen in our organic sales in the past few years. Overall sales of all RiceSelect brown rice items were up near 18% in 2004 compared to a less than 10% growth rate in 2003.
Mark Denman, VP Sales & Operations (January, 2005)