Retailers can drive spend with free-from and organic food as IRI research shows the trend towards healthier products continues to grow.

Forty-three per cent of consumers buy organic food, which is more than a third that did three years ago. More than 25% of people claim they are happy to spend more buying organic.

Free-from food has also grown, with 19% of shoppers saying they would spend more on these lines in the next six months.

The number of shoppers buying vegetarian food has grown by 26% in the past three years, but fewer people are willing to spend more for this choice.

Livio Martucci, IRI director, said with obesity becoming a major concern, it is encouraging that one in four shoppers said they wanted to lose weight.

“Organic, free-from and vegetarian food is no longer a niche market to be merchandised at the back end of an aisle. There is a huge opportunity here for retailers to give more shelf space to healthier food,” he added.