Washington D.C., Sept. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It’s not easy for an organic seed dealer in Oregon to get connected with that organic grain farmer in Iowa who’s in need of organic seeds, or the organic granola maker in California who wants to use environmentally-friendly containers to find out about the sustainable packaging company in Texas. And even harder for an organic snack food maker in Europe to know about the organic peanut butter and almond butter maker in New York.
To help facilitate those connections and link together the rapidly growing U.S. organic supply chain, the Organic Trade Association is unveiling its new Find.Organic business directory. This new up-to-date directory promises to be the go-to source for information on U.S. organic products and services.
Despite record growth in the organic industry, demand for organic products continues to outpace supply. Find.Organic, developed and managed by the Organic Trade Association, helps the industry meet these challenges by serving as a tool to forge links in the U.S. organic supply chain. Users can search for ingredients or specific products by name, find organic businesses ranging from organic certifiers to business consultants and farming suppliers, and locate export-ready U.S. organic products, as well as organic fiber and textiles, personal care products, retailers, manufactured products, business services, and eco-friendly packaging.
The new directory reflects the efforts that began back in November 2017 by an Organic Trade Association member task force to counsel and support the relaunch of the association’s online directory. Comprised of a diverse group of members spanning the organic supply chain, the task force set goals for the tool, and provided critical feedback on the user experience at key touchpoints throughout its development.
“As a comprehensive database of export-ready organic products, Find.Organic is s a useful resource for global buyers looking for U.S. certified organic products”, says Laura Batcha, Executive Director and CEO of the Organic Trade Association. She adds, “It is also so much more--a valuable tool for businesses and others to link up within the organic supply chain and for those seeking organic products and services that meet their needs.”
All current members of the trade association are eligible to be listed in the directory, as well as any U.S.-based organic businesses that export organic products globally. The directory is configured to easily identify businesses that go above and beyond organic certification by being active members of the Organic Trade Association, growing the U.S. organic export market, and implementing company-wide fraud prevention plans.
Funding the development and maintenance of the new directory were monies received from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP). MAP also enables the Organic Trade Association to link international buyers through in-person meetings with domestic organic companies to increase U.S. organic exports. For Expo East, the trade association’s U.S. Organic Worldwide program is partnering with Food Export Northeast to bring in 18 buyers from the following countries--Aruba, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, France, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Taiwan. United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and Vietnam--to meet one-on-one with U.S. organic company representatives.
If a company is looking to source an ingredient for its organic products, wanting to get connected to an organic certifier or distributor, or looking to grow its business by exporting its product, being listed in the Find.Organic directory would be beneficial. For those companies in the organic sector wanting to be included in the directory, simply fill out this form on the Find.Organic website.
The Organic Trade Association (OTA) is the membership-based business association for organic agriculture and products in North America. OTA is the leading voice for the organic trade in the United States, representing over 9,500 organic businesses across 50 states. Its members include growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others. OTA’s Board of Directors is democratically elected by its members. OTA's mission is to promote and protect ORGANIC with a unifying voice that serves and engages its diverse members from farm to marketplace.
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